Erekat condemns statement calling Abbas irrelevant

Chief Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erekat on Sunday condemned Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's statement from earlier in the day, in which she said that Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas was no longer relevant since Hamas was elected to lead the PA. Army Radio reported Erekat as saying "Livni's statements are unacceptable, and they represent the Israeli policy that precipitated the security deterioration."