The Obama administration refused to comment on the reconciliation agreement signed between Fatah and Hamas in Qatar on Monday.

Prime Minister Netanyahu condemned the agreement, calling it “a moral blow to peace and a great victory for terrorism.”

The American administration, however, refused to comment on this development, as US State Department spokeswoman, Victoria Nuland stated, “As we’ve said many times, questions of Palestinian reconciliation are an internal matter for Palestinians,” but asserted that “both of these parties ought to stay committed to this [peace] process.”

 “What matters to us are the principles that guide a Palestinian government going forward, in order for them to be able to play a constructive role for peace and building an independent state,” Nuland continued.

Commentary Magazine’s Jonathan S. Tobin notes that there will be “those apologists for the Palestinians who will say unity was necessary for peace and even claim this means Hamas is abandoning violence.”  However, “they will be either lying or deceiving themselves. Hamas’s goal of Israel’s destruction is unchanged as is, it should be noted, that of their erstwhile Fatah enemies.”