Israel threatens 'arsenal of measures' in wake of Fatah Hamas pact
Israel has threatened to use an "arsenal of measures" against the Palestinian territories, including withholding £480 million of taxes and subjecting leaders to humiliating border checks in retaliation for the Fatah Hamas pact.
Mahmoud Abbas, the pro-western president of the Palestinian Authority, was accused of siding with terrorists after his secular Fatah party agreed on Wednesday to end a long-running schism with its arch-rival Hamas, the Islamist overlords of the Gaza Strip. Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's foreign minister, said the deal made it "inevitable" that Hamas would take over the West Bank leaving the Jewish state to confront an enemy bent on its destruction on two fronts. Under the terms of the unexpected deal, reached after weeks of secret talks in the Egyptian capital Cairo, Hamas and Fatah, which fought a brief civil war in 2007, will form a provisional government that will oversee the preparation of presidential and parliamentary elections within a year.
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