Informed Speculation

…and Hamas still doesn’t recognize Israel’s right to exist:

The deal calls for a new cabinet that includes members of both parties and independent politicians.

It says the new government will “respect” previous deals with Israel — a form of words chosen in a finely balanced compromise — and that the two parties pledged to end all violence against one another.

…Hamas, the more militant of the two factions, is regarded by Israel and by Western nations as a terrorist group. It has refused to recognize Israel or honor the Palestinian Authority’s past agreements with Israel.

In hopes of reaching a compromise with Fatah, Hamas proposed that the new unity government “respect” past accords, rather than “commit” to them, which Hamas says would be tantamount to recognizing Israel.

“We don’t have a problem in accepting the wording ‘respect’ the agreements,” Nabil Amr, a spokesman for the Fatah delegation to the talks, told reporters today.

Both Israel and the so-called Quartet — the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union — have warned they will not deal with any new government that does not recognize Israel and renounce violence.

Not good enough…the Europeans and the UN, of course, will cave immediately, but the U.S. and Israel should stand firm…