"President Abbas values roles played by Germany and the international community as a whole in helping achieve a ceasefire in Lebanon and Palestine," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told reporters after a meeting between Abbas and visiting German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Erekat said that during the meeting, Abbas voiced his concern about Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity, adding that Abbas discussed with Steinmeier how to reach a ceasefire in both the Palestinian lands and Lebanon.

For his part, Steinmeier told reporters that Germany is willing to keep contact with President Abbas, adding that efforts to calm down the Mideast situation and avoid civilian casualty should not stop.

"Our top priority is to calm down the situation and then to create an atmosphere, where a ceasefire could be achieved, so afterward, we can find a framework to discuss a permanent solution," said Steinmeier.

He said that Germany was supporting a proposal by UN chief Kofi Annan, "which would, if taken into consideration, lead to the cessation of violence in the region."

Annan has called for a bigger, better armed and more robust international force to stabilize southern Lebanon and buy time for the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah guerrillas. Steinmeier also announced that he has formed three teams of experts that would visit Damascus, Beirut and the UN Headquarters to discuss interests of different parties.

Israel has been fighting on two fronts -- the Palestinians' Gaza Strip to the south and Hezbollah to the north, in a bid to free kidnapped soldiers and stop attacks launched from the two directions.