DEBKAfile: Israel won’t object to US accepting Palestinian unity govt

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu won’t take exception for now to Obama administration carrying on its dialogue with the Palestinians with the new Fatah-Hamas unity regime, DEBKAfile’s sources report. Ignoring the Hamas partner in the new government, the US has invited the just-designated unity prime minister Rami Hamdallah for a visit to Washington. Jerusalem will go along with the administration’s steps up to a point, leaving open how far Israel continues to stand by for closer ties between the West Bank and Gaza members of the new Palestinian government, and allow Hamas officials to share the same privileged status as awarded to Fatah high-ups. The Netanyahu government calculates that the new Palestinian government, made up of non-partisan technocrats, will not survive the first disputes between its component factions Fatah and Hamas over unresolved issues: For instance, the shape of the Gaza regime; who controls Hamas’ armed forces; and elections to the presidency and parliament. Already, Hamas has vetoed Mahmoud Abbas' decision to retain Riyadh al-Maliki as foreign minister.