The World Jewish Congress (WJC) has expressed outrage at the agreement between the main Palestinian government rivals, Fatah and Hamas, signed in Cairo on Wednesday. "The Fatah-Hamas agreement is a prize for terror and a setback for peace," said WJC President Ronald S. Lauder. The Fatah-Hamas pact is also an assault against the United States, he added. On Monday, Hamas' leader Ismail Haniyeh had condemned America's "assassination" of Bin Laden and called it a "continuation of the US policy of spilling Arab and Muslim blood"while calling Bin Laden "an Arab holy warrior".

"While Fatah agreed to release all Hamas prisoners, the Hamas leadership reiterated its commitment to 'armed resistance' against Israel," Lauder said. "It is a worrying indication that PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas told the Arab media that there was no need to demand that Hamas recognize Israel."

"Hamas's tribute to Bin Laden is a wakeup call to the free world," said Dan Diker, secretary general designate of the WJC. "And today, the implications for this dangerous Palestinian Unity government are even more severe. Palestinian terrorists who celebrated 9/11 and now mourn Bin Laden's death are demanding that the United Nations recognize a unilaterally declared Palestinian state whose mandate remains the destruction of Israel."

Need to freeze financial aid

Diker said: "As the entire civilized world celebrates a victory for freedom in the war against terror, it is clear a UN-recognized, Hamas-Fatah ruled Palestinian state will destabilize the Middle East and make a dangerous situation even more dangerous for the rest of the world." The World Jewish Congress also urged the United States and all other countries to freeze financial aid to the Hamas-Fatah regime. The WJC further called on donor countries to clarify their opposition to any premature UN recognition of Palestinian statehood.