http://www.jpost.com...Fatah-deal-350419

Israel on Thursday was surprised and infuriated by the reconciliation agreement between Hamas and Fatah particularly since hours earlier Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu had for the first time agreed to enter substantive negotiations with the Palestinian Authority over the borders of a future Palestinian state, Channel 10 is reporting on Friday.

Aides to the prime minister are denying the Channel 10 report.

According to Channel 10, while Netanyahu refused Palestinian demands to explicitly present his position on borders, he did give consent to his government's chief representatives in the negotiations - Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and attorney Yitzhak Molcho - to present maps on which both sides would then proceed to sketch the contours of the political boundary that would separate Israel and a yet-to-be-created Palestine.

The prime minister also agreed to a freeze of all new construction in the Jewish settlements of Judea and Samaria, though he insisted that Israel would complete all construction that has already been initiated, according to Channel 10.

Poor Bibi. He so very much wants peace. And he's been working so hard for it for so very long. They were so close, too! Peace was At Hand!!11 But those silly Palestinians had to throw it all away....

</sarcasm>

Cheers,
Scott.
(Who wonders when the Third Intifada is going to start...)