US Cuts Ties with New Abbas Govt./Israel Doesn't: Is Olmert Auditioning for the Twilight Zone?

"There is a fifth dimension below that which is known to reasonable man. It is a dimension as vast as space and timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and darkness, between danger and safety, and it lies between the pit of man's fear of being blown up and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension where only consession is made. It is an area we call the Olmert Zone."

Rod Serling is not coming back to life, but when dealing with the present Olmert Government it does seem like some policies come from another dimension. Today is a perfect example. Last night Israel got a call from the US State department, informing the foreign ministry that Condy is going shun the new United Palestinian Terrorist Government because they haven't met the famous three conditions.

Today, in the nation of Turkey, Israel's turkey PM Olmert announces that he is against cutting ties to the new terrorist leadership. Besides being an example of Olmert's special kind of idiocy, it is certainly a slap in the face of the US, who took a definitive step in supporting Israel.

US says it will shun future Hamas-Fatah coalition

AP and Khald Abu Toameh, THE JERUSALEM POST Feb. 15, 2007

The United States has informed Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas that it will shun a future Hamas-Fatah coalition government because it will not explicitly recognize Israel, Abbas aides said Thursday.

That position would be a severe blow to Abbas, who is trying to reach a power-sharing deal to end Palestinian infighting and to get crippling international sanctions on the government lifted.

Meanwhile, on a more positive note for Abbas, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that he was opposed to ending contacts with the PA chairman.

"I am against cutting ties with Abu Mazen," Olmert told reporters after his meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.

As a result of the power-sharing deal, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas submitted his resignation on Thursday to Abbas to pave the way for the formation of a unity government.

Haniyeh announced his resigantion during a meeting in Gaza City with Abbas.

Abbas asked Haniyeh to form a new unity government within three weeks. In his letter of appointment, Abbas called on Haniyeh to "respect" all United Nations and Arab summit
resolutions concerning the Middle East conflict.

Until now, Washington had withheld judgment on the power-sharing deal.

Abbas received word of the new US position in a phone call from a senior US State Department official late Wednesday, the aides said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the issue. A US diplomat then delivered the same message to Abbas in person Thursday, the aides said.

The US Consulate in Jerusalem had no immediate comment.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat would only say that US officials have made it clear to the Palestinians that any government must adhere to the principles laid out by the Quartet of Mideast mediators - recognize Israel, renounce violence and back previous peace deals with Israel.

Erekat met with senior US officials in Washington last week to prepare for a three-way Mideast summit in Jerusalem on Monday. He also was involved in the meeting Thursday between Abbas and the US official.

"The Americans reiterated their position that their relations with the government will depend on the government's compliance with the Quartet's principles," he said.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Turkish television that Israel was not happy with the coalition agreement.

"I am not certain that the full scope of this agreement is clear to anyone, the initial signs are not very encouraging," he said.

Earlier Thursday, the Hamas government declared it was set to resign later in the evening, paving the way for the formation of a broader coalition with the rival Fatah movement, a Palestinian negotiator said.

Last-minute demands by Hamas had raised doubts about whether the group would go ahead with the resignation. However, the disputes were resolved Thursday, said Ziad Abu Amr, an independent who is expected to serve as foreign minister in the new Cabinet.