This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-27142594

The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Netanyahu says Abbas must abandon unity deal with Hamas Netanyahu says Abbas must abandon unity deal with Hamas
(35 minutes later)
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas must abandon his pact with Hamas if he wants peace, Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu has said in an interview with the BBC.Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas must abandon his pact with Hamas if he wants peace, Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu has said in an interview with the BBC.
Israel suspended peace talks with the Palestinians on Thursday in response to a unity deal between Hamas and Fatah.Israel suspended peace talks with the Palestinians on Thursday in response to a unity deal between Hamas and Fatah.
The decision came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chaired a six-hour meeting of Israel's security cabinet.The decision came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chaired a six-hour meeting of Israel's security cabinet.
The Palestinian factions said they would attempt to form a unity government in the coming weeks.The Palestinian factions said they would attempt to form a unity government in the coming weeks.
Mr Netanyahu told the BBC's Middle East Editor Jeremy Bowen that Mr Abbas could "have peace with Israel or a pact with Hamas - he can't have both."
He said Israel would only resume peace talks with Palestinians "when they decide to abandon the course of terror."
"As long as I'm prime minister of Israel, I will never negotiate with a Palestinian government that is backed by Hamas terrorists that are calling for our liquidation," he added.
Correspondents say the latest moves could be a fatal blow to the US-brokered peace negotiations.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman said on Thursday that the move made a peace agreement "impossible."
The direct negotiations were already close to collapse after both sides took what the US called "unhelpful steps" earlier this month.
Since then, Washington has been trying to keep the talks going beyond Tuesday, the deadline for a final agreement set when they resumed last July after a three-year hiatus.
'Additional measures'
The two Palestinian factions have been at odds since Hamas, which won parliamentary elections in 2006, ousted forces loyal to Mr Abbas and Fatah in the Gaza Strip during clashes in 2007 and set up a rival government.
Israel, along with the US and the EU, considers Hamas a terrorist group
In a statement released after Thursday's security cabinet meeting, Mr Netanyahu called the deal "a direct continuation of the Palestinian refusal to advance the negotiations".
President Abbas had "formed an alliance with an organisation whose charter calls for Muslims to fight the Jews and kill them", he added.
Mr Netanyahu said Israel would take "a number of additional measures" in response to the Palestinians' "unilateral moves", but provided no details.
Israel has already said it will deduct debt payments from tax revenues collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority - which governs parts of the West Bank not under Israeli control - and limit its access to deposits in Israeli banks.
That move came after Mr Abbas submitted applications to join 15 UN treaties and conventions because Israel was refusing to release a fourth group of 26 long-term Palestinian prisoners.
Israel had made such a release contingent on progress in the peace talks
Earlier, a senior US official said the White House would be forced to reconsider its assistance to the Palestinians if Hamas and Fatah formed a unity government
"Any Palestinian government must unambiguously and explicitly commit to non-violence, recognition of the state of Israel, and acceptance of previous agreements and obligations between the parties," the official told the Reuters news agency.
Palestinian officials said reconciliation was an internal matter and that uniting the Palestinians would reinforce peace.
In a statement, President Abbas said there was "no incompatibility between reconciliation and the talks" and that they were committed to peace on the basis of a two-state solution.
The factions said they planned to form an interim unity government - headed by Mr Abbas - within five weeks and to hold parliamentary elections within six months.
"This is the good news we tell our people," Ismail Haniya, prime minister of the Hamas-led government in Gaza, said. "The era of division is over."