 The Israeli government says it has severed all ties with the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority, declaring it a "hostile entity". However, the government will maintain contacts with Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, although it has ruled out full peace talks with the leader of the Fatah faction. The decision was announced following a security cabinet meeting on Sunday. In a statement issued after the meeting Ehud Olmert, the acting Israeli prime minister, also said that his government would shun foreign diplomats who meet members of the Hamas administration. |