London - The Israeli Foreign Minister, Silvan Shalom, said that the negotiations with the Palestinians could not possibly resume unless Mr Abbas eliminates Hamas and Islamic Jihad. These elements must be taken apart because it is a long and fundamental demand of Israel.

The Finance Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, said that the Palestinian leadership should avoid meeting with Hamas or Islamic Jihad. On the contrary, they should meet Israel's insistence that he should disarm and dismantle them.

Mr Netanyahu also demanded that Israel should not make any concessions to the new Palestinian leadership in response to a ceasefire, he should think over it twice before agreeing to their proposal.

"I do not believe that Israel must give something," he told Army Radio. "The Palestinians must give something.

"They are the side that violated the law. They are the side that tried with the force of terror to advance the terrible results that they sought."

According to Guardian Unlimited, Mr Netanyahu was also reluctant to follow the example of other cabinet ministers, including the Labour party leader Shimon Peres, in praising Mr Abbas.

"First, I would prefer to see results," he said. "A truce can be an opening for a positive development, or a time-out between two offensives of terrorism."