Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to step away from a unity deal with the Islamist group Hamas a day before it was due to be officially signed in a ceremony in Cairo. On Tuesday it was announced that the deal itself had already been inked, and the scheduled Egyptian event would merely be ceremonial.
Nevertheless, following a meeting with Quartet envoy Tony Blair, Netanyahu released a statement imploring the Fatah head to reconsider. “I call on Abu Mazen (Abbas) to cancel the agreement with Hamas immediately and to choose the way of peace with Israel,” Netanyahu said.
Fatah responded to Netanyahu’s calls for a cancellation of the unity deal, saying this is an “unacceptable interference,” AFP reported.
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