Israeli officials charged that the United States had sanctioned terrorism after hearing late Monday night that Washington planned to establish ties with the newly sworn-in Fatah-Hamas unity government.
“If the US administration wants to advance peace, it should be calling on [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud] Abbas to end his pact with Hamas and return to peace talks with Israel. Instead it is enabling Abbas to believe that it is acceptable to form a government with a terrorist organization,” Israeli officials said in a sharply worded statement to the media.
Israel’s Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer posted a message on his Facebook page which said that “with suits in the front office and terrorists in the back office, [the unity government] should not be business as usual.”