Abbas freezes talks with Hamas over new gov't

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has frozen talks with Hamas over a national coalition government because of the latter's refusal to accept former peace deals with Israel, a presidential spokesman said on Sunday.

Ahmad Abdel Rahman said negotiations would be frozen until the president returned from a trip to the United States where he will attend a UN meeting and meet U.S. President George W. Bush.

Abbas's move came one day after Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya of Hamas told reporters that any future unity government, which he has been expected to head, would not necessarily recognize past agreements signed with Israel.

Abdel Rahman said that Haniya's negative statements were made when President Abbas was trying to change the international climate toward the Palestinians.

The row threatens to dampen Palestinian efforts to end international isolation and restore direct Western aid that was cut when Hamas took office in March.

Source: Xinhua