Israel has cancelled a meeting with a visiting Norwegian minister after he held talks with the prime minister of the new Palestinian unity government.

Norway was the first Western country to recognize the new government which contains members of the militant group Hamas and its main rival, Fatah.

Israel says it will not deal with the new administration, and has called for a continued international boycott.

The US and EU have withheld recognition but left a door open for future ties.

They say they will judge the government on its actions and meanwhile they have indicated they will maintain contacts with ministers who are not members of Hamas.

Raymond Johansan, Norway's deputy foreign minister, had been due at the Israeli foreign ministry, but the meeting was called off.

On Monday, he met Prime Minister Ismail Haniya of Hamas and other government officials, becoming the first high-ranking Western official to visit members of Hamas.

Norway is not an EU member but has played a major role in past Middle East peacemaking.

In the 1990s, it hosted secret meetings between Israeli negotiators and members of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, which led to signing of the Oslo accords.

PHOTO CAPTION

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh (R) shakes hands with Norway's Deputy Foreign Minister Raymond Johansen during their meeting in Gaza March 19, 2007. (Reuters)

BBC