In blunt criticism, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert stated Sunday that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas "blatantly violated" a promise to free a captive Israeli soldier before forming a new national unity government.
Olmert spoke before the weekly Cabinet meeting and ahead of his talks with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon, both visiting the region.
"We can't ignore the fact that the chairman of the Palestinian Authority blatantly violated a series of commitments to Israel, especially the commitment that no national unity government would be formed before Gilad Shalit's release," Olmert said.
Shalit was captured by Hamas-linked fighters in June 2006 and is believed to be held in the Gaza Strip.
According to the AP, Olmert said Abbas had made the commitment "again and again" in meetings between the two leaders, during three-way summits that included Rice, and to "foreign heads of state."
In a weekend interview with the Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot, the Palestinian leader said Hamas rejected his demand to condition the government's formation on Shalit's release.
