In talks Friday evening with Egyptian Prime Minister Hosni Mubarak and Jordanian King Abdullah, Acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned that Israel will not negotiate with a Hamas-led Palestinian government, and will seek help from the international community to pressure Hamas to disarm.“Hamas is asked to disarm and abandon its pledge to destroy Israel. These are demands that the international community should present to the Palestinians,” Olmert said. King Abdullah pushed for Palestinians to accept full responsibility for their election results, saying, "The Palestinians need to opt for the continuation of the political process."
Egyptian Prime Minister Hosni Mubarak told Olmert of plans to meet with the Palestinian Authority next week to discuss the implications of the Hamas victory. He will also have a meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. Livni said Friday afternoon that Palestinians have "slammed shut a window of opportunity" for peace that had opened with the election of Abbas as Palestinian president last January.
Abbas, for his part, reiterated his request for Hamas to form the new government, saying, "We are continuing contacts with all the factions, and of course we will ask the party who won the majority to form the government".
