Do the parties likely to form the next Israeli government accept the three conditions that the U.S. has demanded of Hamas?
No. The charters of Likud, the party of presumptive Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and many of his likely coalition partners – including the National Union and The Jewish Home – explicitly reject the establishment of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, and instead advocate continued Israeli control of all lands occupied in 1967. Other parties likely to join a Netanyahu-led government – Shas and United Torah Judaism – have not expressly opposed negotiations with the Palestinians, but their insistence on continued Israeli control over all of occupied East Jerusalem conflicts with Israel’s previous agreement that the status of Jerusalem will be decided through negotiations with the Palestinians. 5. How will U.S. recognition or lack of recognition affect its ability to play a constructive role in brokering Palestinian/Israeli peace? If the United States fails to recognize and work with the newly established Palestinian unity government, America’s ability to play a constr
