Nationalist politicians reacted angrily to news of the meeting between Palestinian Authority and Fatah head (PA) Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas head Khaled Mashaal, and Abbas’s statement that there are “no more differences” between the two movements.

Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Public Diplomacy Yuli Edelstein (Likud) said in response that “the announcement by Abu Mazen [Abbas] that there are no more differences of opinion between him and Hamas is that he accepts Hamas’s aggression and terror tactics against Israel and supports the killing of innocent civilians.”

“The Authority, which aspired to be a body that controls and administers the Palestinians’ lives, is a terror body for all intents and purposes,” Edelstein said.

“Abu Mazen chose today to escalate the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians and the results of the partnership with Hamas will be a disaster for the Palestinians and the entire region,” he added.

MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union) said that from now on, the government of Israel needs to treat the PA as it treats Hamas and define it as a terror entity and a clear enemy.