Israel will not conduct diplomatic negotiations with a Palestinian government that relies on Hamas unless the terrorist organization changes fundamentally, the security cabinet decided on Tuesday.

The decision comes as Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party, which oversees the so-called West Bank, has made a unity government deal with Hamas, the terrorist organisation that rules the Gaza strip.

The statement said the following:

Pursuant to previous decisions, the Government of Israel will not conduct diplomatic negotiations with a Palestinian government that relies on Hamas, a terrorist organization that calls for the destruction of Israel, as long as it does not fulfil the following conditions:

– Hamas will recognize Israel and desist from terrorism, as per the Quartet conditions;

– Hamas must be disarmed;

– IDF fallen and Israeli civilians held by Hamas must be returned;

– The Palestinian Authority must exercise full security control in Gaza, including at the crossings, and prevent smuggling;

– The Palestinian Authority will continue to act against Hamas terror infrastructures in Judea and Samaria;

– Hamas will sever its ties with Iran; and

– Funds and humanitarian equipment will continue to flow into Gaza only via the Palestinian Authority and the mechanisms that have been established for this purpose.

Both Fatah and Hamas on Tuesday night rejected the cabinet decision.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for PA President Mahmoud Abbas, said, “The Israeli position won’t change the official Palestinian policy of reconciliation that results in the end of the occupation and the establishment of a Palestinian state on 1967 borders with east Jerusalem as its capital.”

Hamas called the cabinet decision “Israeli interference in internal Palestinian matters” and said the Palestinian reaction needs to be continuation toward stability and the success of reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah.

Once again, with Fatah and Hamas about to form a unity government in Gaza, the Israeli government is right to refuse to negotiate with Hamas terrorist thugs that seek the destruction of the Jewish state.