Israel rules out Palestinian peace talks

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert today ruled out peace talks with the Palestinians, saying contacts will be limited to humanitarian issues until the new coalition government explicitly renounces violence and recognises Israel’s right to exist.

Olmert made the comments a day after the rival Hamas and Fatah movements installed their new unity government in hopes of persuading the international community to end its isolation of the Palestinian Authority and lift a year of bruising economic sanctions.