Israel's prime minister says it will be impossible to hold peace talks if the Palestinians go through with a new reconciliation deal.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas has chosen to "abandon the way of peace" by reaching a power-sharing deal with the Hamas militant group.
At a meeting in Qatar earlier on February 6, Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal agreed that Abbas will head a Palestinian unity government to prepare for elections later this year.
The deal aims to end a rift which has seen Gaza and the West Bank run by separate governments over the past four years -- a Hamas administration in Gaza and Abbas' Western-backed Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.
Israel considers Hamas a terrorist group.
Compiled from agency reports