President Barack Obama. Photo: White House.

JNS.org – The United States says that it intends to work with the new Palestinian unity government formed by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party and the terrorist group Hamas, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said.

“We will be judging this government by its actions. Based on what we know now, we intend to work with this government, but we’ll be watching closely to ensure that it upholds the principles that President Abbas reiterated today,” State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters on Monday.

Psaki was alluding to the Middle East Quartet principles that include recognizing Israel, rejecting terror, and honoring previously signed agreements, conditions Abbas said the new unity government would adhere to, despite the inclusion of Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was “deeply troubled” by the U.S. decision to work with the new unity government.

“All those who genuinely seek peace must reject President Abbas’s embrace of Hamas, and most especially, I think the United States must make it absolutely clear to the Palestinian president that his pact with Hamas, a terrorist organization that seeks Israel’s liquidation, is simply unacceptable,” Netanyahu said, The Associated Press reported.