Israel's Livni to meet Palestinian President Abbas

NEW YORK, Sep 18 (Reuters) Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said she would tell Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a meeting today that any unity government he negotiates with Hamas must meet international conditions for lifting a freeze on foreign aid.

Those conditions are that any Palestinian government must renounce violence, recognize Israel and accept interim peace deals Israel signed with the Palestinians.

Livni said it would be her second meeting with Abbas -- whom she will see on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly -- since the Islamist group Hamas came to power in March and sparked a freeze on most foreign aid to the Palestine.

''The last thing that the region, our region, West Asia, needs is another terrorist state,'' Livni told reporters, adding that Israel supports strengthening Abbas, whose Fatah movement wants a two-state solution with Israel.

''The best way to strengthen Mahmoud Abbas is to demand the implentation of these requirements and not to compromise with them,'' she said.

The measures were set by the ''Quartet'' of peace mediators -- the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia as conditions for ending a freeze on most foreign aid to the Palestinians.

Abbas and ruling Hamas have begun talks on a unity government in a bid to lift sanctions, but aides to Abbas said on Sunday the president froze talks after Hamas said it would not accept interim peace deals with Israel.

Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas said talks were only delayed while Abbas is in New York.

Livni said it would be ''unacceptable'' for any unity government to be recognized if Hamas has not changed its ideology.

''(Hamas) needs legitimization in order to get the money,'' Livni told reporters. ''They're looking for any hesitation in the international community in order to change the government to a unity government in order to get legitimacy.'' ''The three requirements are not negotiable, they are clear,'' she said.

Livni said she would also discuss with Abbas the case of an Israeli soldier captured in June by Gaza militants who have demanded the release of Palestinian prisoners and a halt to Israeli attacks.

REUTERS PR VC2340