Palestinian official hails acknowledgement on unity government

The world's consensus in supporting the new Palestinian interim unity government is a full recognition of the national rights of the Palestinian people, a senior Palestinian official said on Tuesday.
Nabil Abu Rdineh, spokesman of the Palestinian presidency, said that Europe, Russia, China, all Arab states and other friendly countries had welcomed the formation of the unity government.
Earlier on Monday Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah Party and the Islamic Hamas movement ended seven years of internal split by forming an interim unity government.
"This consensus represents a full recognition of the legal rights of the Palestinians and of the independent Palestinian state on the territories occupied by Israeli in 1967 with east Jerusalem as its capital," Abu Rdineh said.
He told the state-run news agency Wafa that Israel "has to conceive that the whole world rejects its policy." "It is time that Israel should recognize the historic and legal rights of the Palestinian people," he said.
Israel has threatened to boycott the unity government, considering it a hurdle against peace efforts. It has suspended peace negotiations with the Palestinians in response to the Palestinian reconciliation agreement.
Earlier on Tuesday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regretted a U.S. official declaration to deal with the unity government in the future.
Israel Radio quoted Netanyahu as saying that the unity between Abbas and Hamas "is unacceptable," as "Hamas is still a terrorist organization that stands behind the killing of a big number of victims."
But Rami Hamdallah, new prime minister of the unity government, said earlier that "the government is committed to all the agreements signed with Israel and will be committed to the political program of President Abbas and to all other peaceful choices to achieve peace and establish our state."