Israel rules out talks with Palestinian unity government

ISRAEL will not negotiate with a new Palestinian unity government that includes the Hamas militant group, according to Israel’s foreign minister.

Avigdor Lieberman spoke a day after rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah reached a unity deal in Cairo to end their five-year-long dispute.

For the Palestinians, the Egyptian-brokered deal revived hopes of ending their bitter infighting that weakened them politically and caused the deaths of hundreds in violent clashes and crackdowns.