PNA, Hamas rebuff Netanyahu's threat not to negotiate if Hamas joins government

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and Hamas rejected on Monday statements of Israel' s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which he threatened not to restart peace talks if Hamas joins the new Palestinian government. "These statements are totally declined and everyone should realize that priority is given to the national reconciliation," said chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat. "There is no peace talks between the Israelis and us, so there is no Netanyahu's statements," he added. In Gaza, Hamas official Salah al-Bardawil described Netanyahu's statements as a blatant interference in the Palestinian domestic affairs. "Israel is acting like this in order to deprive the Palestinians of their rights ... it tries to escape its commitments and obligations," he said. Al-Bardawil added that the Hamas movement is part of the Palestinian people that cannot be ignored. "Israel has no right to draw the politics of the Palestinians," he stressed. Fatah and Hamas have agreed to a deal signed last Thursday in Cairo to form a unity government that will end a political split started in 2007. Netanyahu said during a meeting on Sunday with Israel's ambassadors and consuls-general that Israel will not negotiate with the Palestinians if Hamas joins the government.