JOSHUA PUNDITThursday, April 28, 2011
One thing the new Hamas/Fatah unity seems to have done is unite almost all political factions in Israel.
Israel's interior group of ministers all agreed that there will be no further peace talks with the new joint Fatah/Hamas government the 'Palestinians' are currently setting up.
"If the situation changes and Hamas alters its ways and recognizes Israel, then we'll see," a political source said. "In the meantime there will be no talks or negotiations with the Palestinians until the picture becomes clearer."
I'd say the chances of Hamas recognizing Israel are slim and none.
Even the normally dovish Labor Israeli President Shimon Peres weighed in, saying "The agreement between Fatah and the terrorist organization of Hamas is a fatal mistake which will prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, and destroy the chances of achieving peace and stability in the region."
Kadima's Tzipi Livni voiced her opposition as well, if a bit more cautiously. "It is still unclear what the terms of this agreement will be, but the test of the Palestinian government will be the acceptance of the international community's conditions," she said. "A Palestinian government will have to accept the Quartet's conditions if it intends to keep peace with Israel."
Since the Quartet's conditions involve recognizing Israel,abiding by past agreements and renouncing violence, again slim and none.
Abbas came out with a particularly farcical statement today. After avoiding any talks with the Israelis for months, he now asserts that there's no connection between peace talks with Israel and getting into bed with his Hamas.
This is commonly known as wanting to have one's cake and it, and while the 'Palestinians' have been able to do that on occasion I doubt this is going to be one of those times.
