Israel rejects Palestinian unity government

JERUSALEM -- The Islamic militant group Hamas and its Fatah rivals forged a unity government Thursday to end more than a year of political wrangling, isolation and bloodshed. Israel quickly rejected the new leadership, saying it failed to recognize the Jewish state.

Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas said he hoped the government would "launch a new era" for the Palestinians, putting an end to lethal infighting while satisfying international demands ahead of a crucial Arab summit in Saudi Arabia at the end of the month and a visit to the region this weekend by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Israel urged its Western allies to maintain an aid embargo imposed after Hamas won election in January 2006 and set up a government by itself.

Initial U.S. and European reaction to the new Palestinian team was cool, while Russia was relatively upbeat.

The West cut off aid to the Palestinians when Hamas took power, labeling it a terror group and forcing it to agree to bring Fatah, the movement of moderate President Mahmoud Abbas, back as a junior partner. Both sides said the main goal was to stop clashes that have taken more than 140 lives in recent months, but restoration of aid and resumption of the peace dialogue with Israel remained high priorities.

At stake is about $1 billion in frozen aid. The West is unlikely to lift the sanctions unless it is convinced the new government is sufficiently moderate.

A dormant Saudi peace plan from 2002 is expected to resurface at the March 28-29 Riyadh summit, putting pressure on Israel to respond. The plan offers Israel recognition if it withdraws from the West Bank and east Jerusalem and refers to the right of Palestinian refugees from the 1948-49 Mideast war and their descendants to return to their homes.

Israel has said parts of the plan are worthy of consideration, but it rejects a full withdrawal from the territories and return of refugees. However, as long as Israel has international backing to boycott the Palestinian government, it would not be put to the test.

Israeli officials quickly dismissed the Hamas-Fatah government as unacceptable, saying its platform does not accept the three international demands -- recognizing Israel's right to exist, renouncing violence and accepting previous peace accords. The so-called Quartet of Mideast mediators -- the U.S., the European Union, the U.N. and Russia -- posed those requirements for restoring aid, but they are also seen as conditions for resuming peace negotiations.

The unity government deal instead refers vaguely to "respect" for peace agreements and affirms the Palestinians' right to resist and "defend themselves against any Israeli aggression," though it also calls for maintaining and expanding a truce with Israel.

White House spokesman Tony Snow indicated Thursday there would be no change in the U.S. administration's refusal to deal with the Palestinian government unless its platform changed.

"Our position has been consistent, which is, you need a Palestinian government that is going to, in fact, abide by the Quartet conditions," Snow said.

Speaking to reporters Thursday, EU spokeswoman Emma Udwin said the European Commission had yet to assess the new Palestinian government's program.

In Moscow, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin welcomed the development. "It is inarguably an important event in terms of consolidation of the Palestinian ranks," he said.

Mark Regev, a spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, said the new government "seems to have said 'no"' to the international conditions.

"Accordingly, Israel will not deal with this new government and we hope the international community will stand firmly by its own principles and refuse to deal with a government that says 'no' to peace and 'no' to reconciliation," Regev said.

Nimr Hamad, an Abbas aide, said the new government represents all Palestinians. "When Israel says it doesn't want to deal with it, it means it does not want to deal with the Palestinians," Hamad said.

In contrast, Arab leaders hailed the new government. While supporting the Palestinians in public, some of the moderate regimes have been uncomfortable with the Islamic militant Hamas solely in charge.

Arab League secretary Amr Moussa called formation of the government an "important step." The official Saudi Press Agency reported the country's King Abdullah spoke with Abbas on Thursday and "congratulated" him on the successful end to the negotiations.

As the Palestinian negotiations concluded late Wednesday, Hamas and Fatah forces traded fire in the Gaza Strip, killing one Fatah fighter and wounding nine people, including five bystanders, according to security officials.

Haniyeh and Abbas agreed to the framework for the deal last month at a meeting in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and spent the last weeks ironing out the details. The last obstacle was cleared when they agreed on the candidate to lead the Interior Ministry, a crucial office because it controls most Palestinian security forces.

The new minister is Hani Kawasmeh, a senior civil servant who has good relations with both Hamas and Fatah but is a member of neither.