Olmert says Abbas 'powerless,' but meeting planned

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is "powerless" and "helpless," Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Sunday.

"So how can he represent that government in the most crucial, complex and sensitive negotiations, about which there are so many divisions within the Palestinian community?" Olmert told CNN's Late Edition.

Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni met Abbas at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh and said Israel is preparing for a summit with the Palestinian leader. Olmert "sees no reason not to hold a future meeting with Mahmoud Abbas," she said Sunday.

The Palestinian leader is in a weak position internally because his Fatah party lost control of parliament to the militant Hamas group in the Jan. 26 election. (The president is elected separately from parliament.)

Olmert made his comments in advance of his meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush, set for Tuesday.

Olmert said he believes Abbas would like to start negotiations, but Hamas has rejected the basic premises for talks set by the international community, including accepting Israel's right to exist and renouncing violence.

The Hamas-Fatah dispute has spilled over in the streets in Palestinian areas, where both parties have security forces. The official forces are closely linked with Fatah, and Abbas ordered Hamas not to form its own force.

But Hamas went ahead, sending its 3,000 officers into the streets this week. Forces loyal to Abbas launched demonstrations against Hamas over the weekend.

Abbas tried to cool the situation on Sunday.

"Civil war is the red line that nobody dares cross, no matter which side they are on," he said.

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