Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday ruled out peace talks with the Palestinians, saying contacts will be limited to humanitarian issues until the new coalition government explicitly renounces violence and recognizes Israel's right to exist. Speaking at the weekly meeting of his Cabinet, Olmert said he would boycott the new government and urged the international community to follow suit. The Cabinet overwhelmingly endorsed Olmert's position.The rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah installed their new unity government on Saturday, hoping the alliance will end months of infighting and persuade the international community to lift a year of economic sanctions. Israeli officials fear the new government will cause the tough international stance against the Palestinians to crumble. Israel and the U.S. on Sunday ruled out a resumption of financial transfers to the Palestinians. But Norway announced it would lift sanctions, and Britain and the U.N. also signaled flexibility. While the coalition's platform is more moderate than that of the previous Hamas-led government, Olmert said it fell short of international demands to renounce violence, recognize Israel and accept past peace deals. He also noted its affirmation of the right to "resistance."
"This is a government that does not accept the conditions of the international community and sees terror as a legitimate goal," Olmert told his Cabinet. Olmert said he would maintain contact with the moderate Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, who was elected separately and is not a member of the coalition government. But Olmert said the discussions would be limited to "quality of life" issues for Palestinians.