Israel PM wants dialogue with Abbas

JERUSALEM (AFX) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he wants dialogue with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, noting the Palestinian "problem" is the most urgent issue facing the Jewish state.

"I want and intend to hold a dialogue with Abu Mazen," Olmert told reporters in Jerusalem, calling Abbas by his widely-used monicker. "We have no problem that is more urgent than the Palestinian problem."

Olmert and Abbas last met on June 22 in Jordan in an informal meeting over breakfast hosted by King Abdullah II.

The Israeli government cut all contacts with the Palestinian Authority headed by Abbas on April 11 after the Islamist Hamas movement formed a government following its upset election victory in January.

Israel, along with the European Union and the United States, considers Hamas a terrorist organization.

Hamas has killed scores of Israelis in suicide bombings over the years. Its armed wing has not claimed responsibility for any such attacks inside the Jewish state since January 2005.

"We didn't hold meetings in the past not because I didn't want to, but because there were difficulties with expecting results from the meetings on the Palestinian side," Olmert said.

"There is a series of measures that could have been carried out but the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit hindered them from happening," said Olmert, referring to the Israeli soldier who was captured by Gaza militants in a cross-border raid on June 25 that left two other troops dead.

"As long as Gilad Shalit is not returned I will not deal with the release of prisoners," Olmert said. "I have said in the past, before the kidnapping, that within the framework of talks between us I was ready to release Palestinian prisoners."

The three groups that carried out the raid, including the armed wing of Hamas, have demanded that Israel frees Palestinian prisoners in return for the soldier.

The Jewish state has demanded an unconditional release, but local media have nevertheless reported that negotiations are underway, with Egypt as an intermediary.

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