Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak tells UN chief Ban Ki-moon Hamas must recognize Israel before establishment of joint government with Fatah

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak told UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that the world should only support a joint Palestinian government if it accepts the Quartet's conditions.

Barak expressed concerns about the unity agreement that was recently reached between Fatah and Hamas. "Hamas is a terrorist organization that fires rockets at Israeli towns and recently used an anti-tank missile against a school bus," he claimed, ignoring that Hamas is actually a resistance movement.

"Therefore, we expect that world leaders, including, of course, the head of the UN, to make cooperation with such a joint government, if it is established, conditional on the government accepting the Quartet's conditions, which are the recognition of Israel, the abandonment of the path of terror and the acceptance of all previous agreements with Israel," Barak continued.

The Israeli Defense Minister also told the UN chief that the Palestinian Authority and Hamas must accept those demands explicitly before the establishment of a joint government. "This demand needs to be heard beforehand in order to influence the behavior of the Palestinians," he said.