Factional fighting must not turn into civil war

Abbas spoke after meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Egypt his first high-level meeting with an Israeli official since the Islamic militant Hamas took control of the Palestinian government in March.

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

His comments came as Palestinian officials said they foiled an assassination attempt senior Gaza security chief Rashid Abu Shbak, an Abbas loyalist.

Security officials discovered a 154-pound roadside bomb shortly before Abu Shbak's motorcade was scheduled to pass through the area. The discovery a day after Abbas' intelligence chief in Gaza was seriously wounded in an explosion was likely to further inflame tensions between Abbas and the rival Hamas-led government.

Abbas said he told Livni during the 45-minute meeting that Israel and the Palestinians must restore regular contact and work toward resuming peace talks.

Livni said the roadmap peace plan drawn up by the international community remained in force, though she did not elaborate. The Israeli official also said the Hamas-led government must not gain world recognition.

"It is a terrorist government, on the other hand we want to help the Palestinian people and not to punish them ... This was part of the discussion," she said.

She also said Israel had decided to release $11 million in tax money it had collected on behalf of the Palestinians but was withholding.

Israeli officials and Abbas said the two leaders had discussed preparations for a summit between the Palestinian president and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert once he returns from a trip to Washington that began Sunday.

Israel radio had said Livni and Abbas wanted to form a "bypass" channel to maintain communications without including Hamas in their talks. Abbas wants to resume peace negotiations with the Israelis.

Meanwhile, an Israeli air strike in Gaza killed four Palestinians, including a top Islamic Jihad militant, on Saturday, prompting calls of revenge by the armed group to continue targeting Israel in rocket attacks.

Saturday's missile strike, which medics said also killed a boy and his mother and grandmother, was the latest such attack since April, when an Israeli air strike killed an Islamic Jihad militant after a deadly suicide bombing by the group in Israel.