Israeli officials reported on Tuesday morning that Israel is considering cutting its ties with the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas if the new national unity government, which will be formed in coalition with Hamas, ‘does not comply with the international demands’.
A senior Israeli governmental source said that Israel is seriously considering the option of stopping all talks with Abbas.
The source added that Israel is also considering cutting ties with Mohammad Dahlan, a senior Fateh leader and one of the security advisors of president Abbas.
Dahlan actively participated in national unity talks that led to signing the unity agreement in Mecca – Saudi Arabia last Thursday.
Officials in Israel said that cutting the ties might be temporal, while the Israeli government spokeswoman, Miri Eisen, refused to comment on the issue, and said that these are only speculations.
The Israeli Secret Security Services said that Hamas is the biggest winner of the Mecca unity deal, especially its political bureau chief, Khaled Mashal, who according to the source strengthened his position as a political leader parallel to Abbas.
Israeli security officials said that the unity deal means stopping the internal Palestinian clashes, “but Israel is not mentioned in the deal, therefore there is no renouncing of violence”.
