Reports surfaced on Wednesday that the Israeli government will react to the recent formation of a Palestinian unity government combining the Palestinian Authority and the Islamist terror militia Hamas by approving 3,000 new housing units in Jewish neighborhoods of eastern Jerusalem and the West Bank. The reports, even before an official announcement, drew immediate condemnation from several world governments including the US and European Union. US Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking to reporters during a visit to neighboring Lebanon Wednesday, said the Obama Administration has not recognize a “government with respect to Palestine, because that would recognize a state, and there is not a state.” However, PA President Mahmoud Abbas assured him “this new technocratic government is committed to the principles of nonviolence, negotiations, recognizing the State of Israel, acceptance of the previous agreements and the Quartet principles, and that they will continue their previously agreed upon security cooperation with Israel.” Read More
