April 28, 2014 -- Updated 1452 GMT (2252 HKT)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel cannot
negotiate with the government of Palestinian Authority President
Mahmoud Abbas while it is backed by Hamas. FULL STORY
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ABBAS: HOLOCAUST 'MOST HEINOUS'
Israeli PM Netanyahu: No peace talks if Abbas is backed by Hamas
April 28, 2014 -- Updated 1019 GMT (1819 HKT)
Netanyahu: Abbas doing damage control
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: Netanyahu was never serious about peace talks, Palestinian official says
- Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel won't take part in negotiations backed by Hamas
- "I call on President Abbas: Tear up your pact with Hamas," Netanyahu says
- Netanyahu says he will "seek other ways" to achieve peace if necessary
"I call on President Abbas: Tear up your pact with Hamas," Netanyahu said on CNN's "State of the Union."
"We're not going to
negotiate with a government backed by Hamas unless Hamas changes its
position and says it's willing to recognize Israel," he said.
Netanyahu's comments come
four days after the Abbas-led Palestinian movement Fatah, which
controls the West Bank and dominates the Palestinian Authority, said it
would attempt to form a unity government with Hamas, the militant
Islamic group that controls Gaza. Hamas hasn't recognized Israel's right
to exist, and Israel canceled scheduled peace talks after Wednesday's
announcement.
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Netanyahu said that if
Israel cannot reach peace with Palestinians through an agreement, "we'll
seek other ways" to achieve peace. "I'm not going to accept a
stalemate," he said.
But Palestinian lawmaker
Hanan Ashrawi swiftly criticized Netanyahu's "extremely cynical"
declaration. Ashrawi accused the Israeli leader of trying to torpedo the
peace process by expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank, where
most of a projected Palestinian state would be located, and maintaining
the Israeli blockade of Gaza.
"He did everything
possible to undermine the talks, and now he is using the pretext of
reunification in order to say 'You don't qualify,'" Ashrawi said. She
dismissed Netanyahu's assertion that he remained interested in a
settlement of the decades-old conflict as "lip service."
"We judge by his
actions," she said. "He has been systematically dismantling the process,
systematically destroying its very foundations and systematically
destroying the very objective, which is a two-state solution, by
stealing the land of the Palestinian state. Very simply, if he is
serious then he will act in a way that will demonstrate his
seriousness."
In the interview Sunday,
Netanyahu praised the efforts of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry over
the past nine months, saying the United States has been "indispensable"
in pushing for peace.
"I appreciate Secretary
Kerry's unbelievable efforts," he said. "They don't always succeed --
unfortunately, President Abbas made sure of that by embracing Hamas. But
I have to credit John Kerry for his efforts."
Netanyahu also voiced
skepticism over comments by Abbas released Sunday in which the
Palestinian leader called the Holocaust the most heinous crime in modern
human history.
Abbas "can't have it
both ways," by calling the Holocaust the most heinous crime in modern
history while embracing Hamas, a "terrorist organization that openly
denies the Holocaust," Netanyahu said.
He suggested Abbas'
remarks, released by his office, were an attempt to placate Western
public opinion in the wake of Fatah's step toward Hamas.
The Palestinian
territories of Gaza and the West Bank have been run separately for seven
years. The split began taking shape in 2006 when Hamas, participating
in Palestinian polls for the first time, won a majority in the
Palestinian parliament.
The Palestinian
Authority formed a coalition government with Hamas that year, with Abbas
retaining the presidency and Hamas member Ismail Haniya becoming prime
minister. But when Abbas dissolved the government in 2007, Hamas seized
control of Gaza, and Haniya became Gaza's de facto political leader.
The West for years has
shown support to Fatah and warned it not to join hands with militant
Hamas, which several countries, including the United States, have deemed
a terrorist organization.
CNN's Michael Schwartz contributed to this report.
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