ISRAELI Prime Minister Ehud Olmert yesterday ruled out peace talks with the Palestinians, saying contacts will be limited to humanitarian issues until the new coalition government explicitly renounces violence and recognizes 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.

Norway immediately recognized the new coalition Saturday and announced it would lift sanctions. Britain and the United Nations also signaled flexibility. The United States said yesterday its ban on direct aid to the Palestinian Government would remain in place.

The U.S. consulate in Jerusalem said Washington would continue to shun Hamas ministers in the power-sharing Cabinet but permit contacts with non-Hamas members on a case-by-case basis depending on developments.

While the coalition’s platform is more moderate than that of the previous Hamas-led government, Olmert said it fell short of international demands to renounce violence, recognize Israel and accept past peace deals.

The new Palestinian foreign minister, Ziad Abu Amr, urged Israel to cooperate with the new government, saying there was a new opportunity to establish cooperative ties.

(SD-Agencies)