US says new Palestinian government must recognize Israel
19/3/2007 15:58
The United States will not deal with the new Palestinian government unless
it agrees to give up violence and fully recognize Israel, President George W.
Bush's national security adviser Stephen Hadley said yesterday.
"This
(Palestinian) government needs to renounce terror and violence," Hadley told
CNN. "It needs to acknowledge the right of Israel to exist, and it needs to
recognize the various agreements that have entered in between the PLO (Palestine
Liberation Organization) and Israel."
"We will not deal with this government
until it accepts those principles," he said. "We'll be watching obviously for
the words and deeds of this government."
Referring to US pledge to maintain
ties with Palestinian National Authority (PNA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who has
decided to share power with Hamas, officially named Islamic Resistance Movement
that vows to destroy Israel, Hadley said "Abbas is not part of the government.
He is the president of the Palestinian Authority."
Mainstream Palestinian
movements of Hamas and Fatah singed an agreement in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on Feb.
8, 2007 under which the Palestinians will form a new power-sharing government in
a bid to end sanctions led by the United States.
Also yesterday, US State
Department spokeswoman Nancy Bell said that the Bush Administration will
continue to work with Palestinian National Authority (PNA) Chairman Mahmoud
Abbas.
Abbas "was directly elected by the Palestinian people on a platform of
peace," she noted.
The spokeswoman reiterated that "any Palestinian
government must renounce violence, recognize Israel and respect previous
agreements and obligations between the parties."
"These are foundational
principles upon which any Palestinian state must be based. A Palestinian state
will not be born from terror."
The new 25-member Palestinian unity government
was sworn in on Saturday, two hours after it won an almost uncontested vote of
confidence in the Palestinian Legislative Council.
Xinhua
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