Netanyahu looking for excuse to end peace talks

Binyamin Netanyahu and his regime used the split between the Palestinian factions as an excuse to reject a peace agreement in the past.

Today, they are using Palestinian reconciliation as an excuse for the same thing," Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said.

"The only logical explanation is that the Netanyahu regime does not want peace," he added.

Erekat expressed "deep disappointment" at Israel's decision Thursday to halt peace talks and sanction the PA in response to the unity deal signed between Fatah and Hamas on Wednesday.

The PLO official said that "the Gaza Strip's 1.7 million residents, together with those of east al-Quds and the West Bank, make up the state of Palestine.

Today we took an important step in serving our people.

Erekat added that "over the past nine months, the Netanyahu cabinet has increased construction in the settlements, the destruction of [Palestinian] homes, the killing, the arrests and the military raids."