Israeli foreign minister met new Palestinian PM

JERUSALEM, July 9 (Reuters) Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni met with Palestinian Prime Minster Salam Fayyad in Jerusalem for the first time since the Palestinian leader took office, Israeli and Palestinian officials said.

''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.

An official in Fayyad's office said the meeting with Livni dealt with ''broader political issues, not just removing a checkpoint here and there''.

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

Livni and Fayyad, who also holds the foreign minister's post, yesterday discussed ''ways through which the Arab world could support the political process in a way that strengthens the dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians,'' Livni's office said.

Israeli officials said yesterday that an Arab League delegation from Egypt and Jordan has proposed visiting Israel this week for long-delayed talks on an Arab peace initiative.

Reuters SBA VP0620