Despite agreements in place for the creation of a Palestinian unity government, the implementation still appears a long way off. There were initially hopes a deal between Fatah and Hamas would come to fruition immediately after Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas’ visit to New York and the United Nations General Assembly. However, ongoing disputes, particularly regarding the recognition of Israel make it most likely there will still be a Hamas government in place with United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visits the region next week. That immediately rules out any meetings between Rice and Palestinian government members. The U.S. deems Hamas a terrorist organization.