The Quartet of Middle East peace mediators this evening endorsed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' effort to establish a national unity government with Hamas, which is still officially committed to the destruction of Israel.
"The Quartet welcomes the efforts of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to form a government of national unity, in the hope that the platform of such a government would reflect Quartet principles and allow for early engagement," UN. The quartet is made up of the US, EU, Russia and the UN.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan and foreign ministers of the United States, European Union and Russia said in a statement.
Mr Abbas is trying to build a coalition of his moderate Fatah party and the Islamist Hamas movement which defeated it in elections in January. The West has boycotted the Hamas-led government formed in March because it refused to recognize Israel and renounce violence.
The use of the term "reflect" allows Abbas some leeway for what may be an oblique formula for recognizing past Palestine Liberation Organization agreements.
The statement, endorsed by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, mirrored almost word for word an EU statement last week. UN and European diplomats said it represented a significant easing of the United States' stance toward the Palestinian Authority since Hamas took it over this year.
The statement also called for a three-month extension and expansion of a temporary mechanism that channels aid to the Palestinians bypassing the existing Hamas-led government.
The Quartet also encouraged Israel to transfer some $500 million in Palestinian tax and customs revenue that it is withholding to keep the money out of Hamas hands.