Abbas 'to hold off on govt formation'

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas will hold off on asking Hamas to form the next government until it renounces violence, an Israeli Foreign Ministry official said today.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, cited Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman as saying Abbas had made that decision.

Suleiman told journalists in Cairo that Egypt intends to tell Hamas leaders that they must recognise Israel, disarm and honour past peace deals.

Hamas won Palestinian parliamentary elections in a landslide last week.