JERUSALEM - US President George W. Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert have agreed to shun a Palestinian unity government unless it meets international conditions, an official in OlmertÂ’s office said on Saturday.The Bush administration insisted it would wait until a government was formed before making a judgment and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was due to meet Olmert and
But the Israelis said the meeting would focus instead on disagreements over AbbasÂ’ deal for a coalition of his Fatah movement with the militant Hamas group.
An official in Olmert’s office told Reuters the agreement with Bush over a joint position toward the Palestinian government was reached in a telephone conversation on Friday between the two leaders. “We won’t recognize a unity government that doesn’t explicitly accept the conditions. This is the joint US-Israeli position,” the official said, confirming Israeli television reports.
| Working out well for the Paleos, isn't it? This will ensure that the bankers refuse to handle any money coming in. |
In the unity deal reached in Saudi Arabia this month, Hamas made no explicit commitment to recognize Israel, renounce violence or accept interim peace deals as demanded by Israel and the quartet of Middle East mediators. Abbas made clear he would not budge from the deal. “This agreement was the best we could get. We cannot change it. You either take it or leave it,” a Palestinian official said of Abbas’ message to Assistant US Secretary of State David Welch in preparatory talks in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
| We'll leave it, thanks. |
| There's a thought. |