In an editorial Sunday, the New York Times urged U.S. President Barack H. Obama to “leverage” his newfound popularity at the death of Osama Bin-Laden to force Israel and the Palestinian Authority to return to the negotiating table. "It is time for Mr. Obama, alone or with the quartet, to put a map and deal on the table. If Bin-Laden’s death has given the president capital to spend, all the better,” the editorial said.
With that, the editorial expressed concern over the new Hamas-Fatah unity deal. “Hamas has neither renounced its legacy of violence nor agreed to recognize Israel," the editorial said. The United States has spent millions of dollars helping the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority create a security force that Israel has come to rely on to keep the peace in the West Bank. Whether Hamas, which has terrorized Israel with rockets from Gaza, can ever be integrated into that force, or even work side by side, is a huge question."
With that, the editorial expressed concern over the new Hamas-Fatah unity deal. “Hamas has neither renounced its legacy of violence nor agreed to recognize Israel," the editorial said. The United States has spent millions of dollars helping the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority create a security force that Israel has come to rely on to keep the peace in the West Bank. Whether Hamas, which has terrorized Israel with rockets from Gaza, can ever be integrated into that force, or even work side by side, is a huge question."