Several nations are trying earnestly to believe that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' unity government actually comprises a mix of technocrats rather than Hamas officials. They do so to perpetuate an air of business as usual with the Palestinians and to evade certain understandings they made with Israel during peace talks. Israel had to act surprised by these countries' positions as if, theoretically at least, they had expected something else from their allies. Yet we ought to hope that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials in his inner circle both knew the political reality ahead of time and that this was indeed the unfortunate way things were destined to play out. While both the U.S. and the EU supposedly made it seem like both sides were to blame for the failed peace talks, several of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's contrived blunders gave the impression that Israel was actually first in the indictment, ahead of the Palestinians. Though Kerry may have retracted a statement in which he called Israel an "apartheid state," he effectively left the propagandistic weapon to the Palestinians, and not unintentionally, either. Abbas did not want the peace negotiations from the get-go, and he let them fall apart as soon as he could. Netanyahu, meanwhile, fell into Abbas' trap by refusing to slow development in the settlements outside the major blocs, even for a limited time. Matters further devolved on Wednesday when Israel announced new settlement construction amid heightened tension with the West. However, if there had actually been a settlement freeze, Israel would have been paying twice for nothing, as if it greenlit construction only to stop later. Israel had no choice but to let its opinion about the unity Palestinian government and the world leaders that recognized it be heard, which is what it did. Now, members of the U.S. Congress could promote legislation aimed at prohibiting President Barack Obama from offering further financial aid to the PA, which essentially tied the knot with a terrorist organization, Hamas. The whole situation has been obfuscated. Such hazy conditions, however, are a boon for Abbas. Firstly, fomenting conflict and friction between Israel, the U.S. and the EU is seemingly the PA's central goal, ostensibly its only goal. Anyway, the PA is hardly interested in the two-state solution. A meltdown between Israel and any of its allies, or the kind of coarse remarks characteristic of Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman or Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon, are therefore helpful to Abbas and Abbas alone. Certain ministers believe that verbal attacks against governments that offer a credit line to the Palestinian unity leadership ultimately helps to facilitate its demise. However, the opposite is true. Such behavior deepens the rift between Israel and the West. Sanctions also are not an effective political tool; they will not last. The right tactic for Israel now is to hone in on contingencies while waiting for the Palestinian Liberation Organization-Fatah and Hamas to newly antagonize each other. Take Monday's incident at Tapuach Junction in Samaria for example: a shooting aimed at border policemen. Hamas praised the terrorist's actions. What the Foreign Ministry should have done in response was force allied governments to face the significance of their cooperation with an organization that publicly encourages terrorism. Nothing has changed on the ground, least of all Israel's ability to thwart terrorist attacks. Israel will not benefit from worse relations with the Palestinians, but conflict with the U.S. or Europe will exact a much higher price.
