Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas told U.S. President George W. Bush in a phone call Monday that now is the time to resume Middle East peace talks, Abbas' spokesman said.

"Abbas told Mr. Bush that this is the time to resume the political negotiations and to revive the hope of the Palestinian people,' said Nabil Abu Rudeineh, who sat with Abbas during the phone call.

In the 15-minute phone conversation, Abbas told Bush about the steps he has taken, including swearing in an emergency Cabinet and outlawing Hamas' militia forces.

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Bush pledged in return help and support to Abbas. The U.S. is expected to lift its embargo on aid to the PA, imposed in the wake of Hamas' victory in the Palestinian parliamentary elections last year.

The president noted that he plans to meet Tuesday with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and that he would share their thoughts on how to proceed, said White House press secretary Tony Snow.

"What's important is, you have to have a partner who is commited to peace, and we believe that President Abbas is," Snow said. "And therefore we are commited to working with this new emergency government.

Hamas' violent takeover of the Gaza Strip last week split the Palestinian government in two: the Hamas leadership headed by deposed prime minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas in Gaza and the new cabinet now led by the Western-backed economist Salam Fayad in the West Bank.

"We have said that Hamas is a terrorist organization," Snow said. "I think it's pretty clear what our stance has been."

Abbas' emergency cabinet, bolstered by Western promises to resume aid, vowed Monday to exert its authority over the Hamas-controlled strip.

"The government will pursue its jurisdiction over all parts of the homeland, regardless of what happened in Gaza," Abbas' Information Minister Riyad al-Malki told reporters after the new government met in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

It is unclear how much influence Abbas' government can have in Gaza, now fully under Hamas' control. Gaza and the West Bank are separated by 30 miles of Israeli territory.

"We still do not have a clear plan," Malki said.

Asked how he would enforce the law in violence-prone Gaza, Abbas's interior minister in charge of security, Abdel-Razzak Yahya, said: "I swear to God I do not know."

Abbas on Monday formed a committee of inquiry to look into Fatah's defeat in Gaza at the hands of Hamas.

The committee will be headed by PA Secretary-General Tayeb Abdul Rahim, a member of Fatah's Central Committee.

Abbas also dissolved the National Security Council on Monday, in a further bid to weaken Hamas, who was represented on the committee by Haniyeh.

The step was seen as meant to reduce the standing of Abbas' national security advisor, Mohammed Dahlan, who was to head the council. Dahlan has been under heavy criticism within Fatah for his poor performance and responsibility for Fatah's defeat in the Gaza Strip.

Some of Dahlan's associates, however, said Monday that the move was purely an administrative one, as Hamas officials had been on the panel, and had no bearing on Dahlan.

Also Monday, imprisoned Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti issued a statement calling for the dismissal of all PA security forces commanders and Fatah leaders responsible for the Gaza defeat - a clear reference to Dahlan.

Barghouti called for a new Fatah leadership to be appointed in the Gaza Strip comprised of Fatah leaders who are in Gaza - veiled criticism of Dahlan's men, who fled to Ramallah.

The jailed Tanzim leader also called for the Fatah leadership to be purged of corrupt officials.