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Israeli Deputy Minister Threatens to Cut Water and Electricity to Gaza if Unity Government Forms

Israel is considering cutting off water and electricity to the Gaza Strip if the Palestinians form a unity government that includes Hamas according to Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon. Ayalon told the mass-circulation Yediot Aharonot’s website that a unity government that includes Hamas would “transform the Palestinian Authority into a terrorist authority and put an end to any hope for a peace agreement.” The Israeli government ignored mounting international pressure to turn over tax revenue it has collected for the Palestinian Authority under terms of the Oslo Accords that is being withheld in retaliation for the PA accepting full membership in UNESCO, the United Nations cultural organization. On Friday, it reiterated its position that the money that was to have been transferred on November 1st would not be sent to Ramallah. The withholding of the money is exacerbating an already critical cash-flow in the PA that threatens to prevent employees from receiving salaries. Hamas is listed on the U.S. State Department’s terrorist list and therefore faces a cutoff of American aid as long as it denies Israel’s existence, fails to renounce violence and accepts agreements with Israel signed by previous governments. Efforts by Fatah and Hamas to resolve issues and move forward in reconciliation have so far proven ineffective.