USA UNDERSTANDS ISRAEL’S DECISION NOT TO NEGOTIATE WITH PA:

 Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely sees the cabinet's decision to freeze diplomatic negotiations with the Palestinians as long as Hamas does not reform, as an important breakthrough. She said: "It is clear that over the years of discussion on Palestinian Authority union with Hamas, part of the thought of future negotiations has dealt with the idea that the PA represents only some of the Palestinians and that they are separate from Hamas. This has changed, and therefore the government made a decision that we will not allow the Palestinians to continue telling the world on the one hand that they want peace, and on the other hand to conduct a political campaign against Israel while embracing a terrorist organization. We're not willing to play this game anymore. The Israeli government has made a value-based statement here that has wide implications - even when we sit with the Americans and talk about the future of the region and what we expect. It is no secret that the Americans hoped that a regional agreement could be reached and there is no doubt that this undermines the ability of the Americans to force the Palestinians to come to the negotiating table - because of this situation in which they bound themselves with Hamas terrorists.

"Throughout the years, we have demanded that the Palestinians stop the incitement to terrorism and that the Palestinian Authority stop financing the families of terrorists. We have engaged in this campaign, and some European countries responded to our request to reduce the amount of funds they transfer to the PA, which receives more foreign aid per capita than anywhere else in the world. Also on the issue of recognition of the State of Israel; we have demanded this in all our dialogue and negotiations with the Palestinians. Our basic expectation is that they recognize Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people, that we have a historical right here and not only that there happens to be an entity with that name on a map. Our demands are on the PA as well, not just on Hamas." Hotovely said that the signals coming from the White House indicate that the Trump Administration understands the Israeli position, even if this is not explicitly stated. "There are red lines for every country when it wants to negotiate, and in any normalization negotiations, red lines must be drawn. This embrace and partnership with Hamas, which is more than just a political partnership, is such a red line that Israel cannot remain silent about it, and the Americans understand this. Instead we see support from the USA, and the most important issue that concerns us at this time is the Iranian issue," said Hotovely. (Arutz-7)