Hamas and Fatah – which control Gaza and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank respectively – are agreeing on a deal to end the schism between rival Palestinian factions.  Israel and the United States are not happy about news of the reconciliation.

The US and Israel both view Hamas not as a legitimate governing body but as a terrorist group.  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the Palestinian Authority said Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will have to choose between peace with Israel or peace with Hamas.

“You can have one but not the other.  I hope he chooses peace; so far he hasn’t done so,” Netanyahu warned.  Israel then backed out of a scheduled negotiation session that was to have taken place on Wednesday.

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki warned the announcement could seriously complicate peace efforts.  But the peace process was faltering before Hamas and Fatah announced they were ending the split that began in 2007.  Israel had balked on agree-upon prisoner releases and announced new Jewish housing units in Palestinian East Jerusalem.  The deadline for these US-sponsored talks is next Tuesday.

Hamas and Fatah say they’ll form a unity government within five weeks, followed by national elections.