'Israel won't accept preconditions'

Shalom says Israel won't sell electricity to Hamas-run Gaza.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Silvan Shalom 311 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Silvan Shalom 311
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Israel will not accept preconditions before participating in direct peace talks with Palestinians, Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom told Quartet envoy Tony Blair on Monday.
Shalom also said on that Israel would not agree to Palestinian requests that Israel sell Gaza more electricity while it is still under Hamas terrorists' rule.RELATED:Hamas: PA waging war on Islam, AllahPalestinian factions slam PA leadership
Hamas premier Ismail Haniyeh also addressed the prospects of directs talks on Monday, saying that the Palestinian Authority's agreement to resume direct talks would lead to failure, Maan News reported on Monday.
The Palestinians "should trust God, who will be an ally of the Palestinians," the Hamas leader reportedly said at a mosque in the Jabaliya refugee camp. He added that negotiations would not restore Palestinian rights or religious sites.Haniyeh also reportedly said that Palestinians are a "model for Arab nations and Islamic countries," because of their persistence over the years.
Hamas postponed a meeting with Fatah indefinitely on Sunday, due to the Palestinian Authority’s decision to enter direct talks with Israel.
The meeting, which was supposed to take place on Saturday night, had been scheduled in order to address the obstacles to unity between the two groups.
With the exception of the PLO Executive Committee, an unelected body dominated by Abbas loyalists, Palestinians across the political spectrum were united over the weekend in denouncing the PA’s “capitulation.” Several Palestinian factions accused the PA leadership of abandoning its conditions and succumbing to outside pressure.