WASHINGTON — The announcement of a Hamas-Fatah unity plan was
greeted coolly in Washington Wednesday, with State Department
Spokeswoman Jen Psaki describing the news as “disappointing in
terms of the content as well as the timing.”  Speaking shortly
after Israel announced that it was canceling the latest meeting
in the effort to resolve the ongoing crisis in the peace talks,
Psaki said that the State Department understood why Israel found
it difficult to continue negotiating following the announcement.
Psaki delineated a number of principles which the United States
sees as fundamental to participation in peace talks, including a
commitment to non-violence, recognition of the state of Israel
and willingness to uphold all previous commitments and
agreements made in the framework of the peace process. She said
US officials had conveyed the message to Ramallah.  “The ball is
in the Palestinians’ court to answer whether the principles that
have been part of the process can be met,” she said.
“Historically Hamas