Netanyahu to Abbas: You Can’t Have ‘Peace’ with Both Israel and Hamas

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Monday that reconciliation between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas could spell the end of the so-called peace process, after an aide to Mahmoud Abbas said that the Palestinian president would be willing to give up U.S. aid if needed to secure unity with the rival faction, according to the Israeli daily Haaretz.

"You can't have peace with both Israel and Hamas," Netanyahu said. "Choose peace with Israel."

Abbas is making a heavy push for reconciliation with Hamas, and a senior adviser said Monday that he was prepared to give up hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. aid if that was what it takes to forge a Palestinian unity deal.

"Of course we need the American money. But if they use it as a way of pressuring us, we are ready to relinquish that aid," said adviser Azzam Ahmed.

The Palestinian unity government is “isolated internationally” because of Hamas' refusal to recognize the Zionist entity.

Abbas has offered to visit Gaza to lay the groundwork for national elections. Over the weekend, he met with local Hamas officials in the West Bank.

"The president is working hard in order to bring about a unified Palestinian territory before he goes to the UN," Ahmed said.

"This visit should be for the sake of achieving progress on the ground and not only for photos and media coverage, said Mushir al Masri," a Hamas spokesman in Gaza. "The problem is not in forming the government; it's in reaching an agreement."

The Palestinians receive more than $470 million a year in direct financial assistance from the U.S. The U.S. hasn't said what it will do if Hamas returns to power in the West Bank, but it will likely cut off the funds unless Hamas agrees to renounce “violence” and recognize “Israel”. Hamas has given no indication it is prepared to do either, according to Haaretz.

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