Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas told the European Union's top diplomat that he would dissolve the Hamas-led government within two weeks if the Islamic militant group does not agree to form a governing coalition with his Fatah party, Palestinian officials said Friday.

Abbas told EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana that he would replace the current government with a Cabinet of apolitical professionals, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk with the press.

Abbas has promoted the idea of such a Cabinet before, but had pledged not to force it on a reluctant Hamas. His new stand suggests a willingness to take a stronger line against Hamas in an attempt to ease crippling Western sanctions designed to force Hamas to moderate its militantly anti-Israel ideology.

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On Friday, Solana urged Palestinian leaders to move with urgency to form a new government amid warnings that the plight of the Palestinians is worsening.

During a visit in a West Bank refugee camp, Solana said international sanctions against the Hamas-led government have taken a heavy toll on ordinary Palestinians.

He expressed hope the Palestinians would soon form a new government more acceptable to the international community.

"The problem is now that the political solution may arrive too late. Things may get too bad that it will be difficult to recuperate. We have to reverse the situation," he said during a visit to the Askar refugee camp.

The EU, United States and other donors cut off hundreds of millions of dollars of aid to the Palestinian Authority after the Hamas-led government took office in March.

Despite growing hardship in the Palestinian areas, the Islamic militant group has rejected international calls to renounce violence and recognize Israel's right to exist.

After weeks of unsuccessful negotiations, Abbas said Thursday there is no point in further dialogue.

Saeb Erekat, an Abbas confidant, said the chairman is now hoping to end the deadlock by appointing a new government of apolitical technocrats. But he said Hamas would have to accept the compromise.

Erekat said "there are extensive discussions" going on with Hamas, but no agreement.

Solana is on a six-day mission to the Middle East aimed at breathing new life into peace efforts.

Solana met with Olmert on Wednesday and with Abbas and other Israeli and Palestinian officials on Thursday. Solana left for Lebanon on Friday, before moving on to Egypt on Sunday.

Discussing his meeting with Abbas, Solana told reporters that the Palestinian leader "is determined to move the process of the government to be table ... for it to be accepted by the international community."

Solana wrapped up the Israel and Palestinian Authority leg of his Middle East tour on Friday at a United Nations-funded school near the Askar refugee camp.

He and other EU officials met with the Filippo Grandi, deputy head of the UN Relief and Works Agency, which provides humanitarian aid to the Palestinians.

Grandi said there was "a sense of despair" in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

"The international community must do something to ensure the [Palestinian] community has a future," he said.

UN officials briefed Solana on their work and reported problems they face in the West Bank and Gaza.

They said that the Israeli checkpoints, house raids and curfews are overabundant since the Hamas-led Palestinian government came to power in March.

The UN officials said, however, the situation is not a humanitarian crisis, but more an economic crisis. "The only solution is a political solution," Grandi said.

They warned Solana that if the situation does not change soon, the militants could grow more popular. "They will see the only way is through violence," said Anders Fange, director of UNRWA's West Bank operations.

Solana told them he is hopeful there will be a new Palestinian government soon.