State Dept: Palestinian reconciliation could end peace talks with Israelis
The Palestinian agreement, which ends a seven-year split, gives the two factions five weeks to form a government in preparation for full elections six months later.
The United States said Israel should not be expected to negotiate with any government that includes Hamas unless the political/militant group renounces violence, recognizes Israel's right to exist and pledges to respect preexisting agreements.
"The U.S. response is outdated to say the least," Munayyer said. "They can't claim to want peace talks to succeed while enforcing Palestinian division."
Psaki said it was too early to tell whether there was any way to salvage the peace talks, saying "the ball at this point is in the Palestinians' court." She said Kerry and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the issue by telephone Wednesday, but she did not give details of the call.
Psaki said she couldn't predict what would happen on April 29, the deadline for a U.S.-orchestrated peace effort. Officials had been trying to extend the talks.
"Obviously, this is a very fluid situation," Psaki said.
This story was originally published April 23, 2014 at 3:39 PM with the headline "State Dept: Palestinian reconciliation could end peace talks with Israelis."