Israeli foreign minister meets new Palestine PM

Jerusalem, July 9: Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni today met with Palestinian Prime Minster Salam Fayyad in Jerusalem for the first time since the Palestinian leader took office last month, Livni's office said.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah disbanded a Hamas-led government and appointed Fayyad as prime minister in an emergency government after the Islamist group's violent takeover of the Gaza Strip on June 14.

''The discussion dealt primarily with the situation in the Palestinian Authority and the ways of improving the lives of the residents in the territories while preserving Israeli security interests,'' Livni's office said in a statement.

Reuters>