国际英语新闻:Netanyahu urges Abbas to drop Hamas unity government, resume peace talks

JERUSALEM, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called upon Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to sever ties with Hamas following Operation Protective Edge on Friday.

In an excerpt from an interview to the Channel 10 news which was aired Friday evening, the prime minister said he hoped Abbas would "hand Hamas a 'get'," a divorce decree in Hebrew, following the offensive in Gaza, as well as the Shin Bet Security Agency publication of a thwarted plot of Hamas to overthrow the Palestinian Authority from its leadership in the West Bank.

"Abbas understands that this gang (Hamas) was plotting his overthrow and we thwarted it," Netanyahu said, adding he hopes the Palestinian president would choose to dismantle the unity government established earlier this year and pave the road for the resumption of the peace talks.

"I hope that we can cooperate with him on a diplomatic process, " Netanyahu told Channel 10. The full interview is set to be broadcast on Saturday evening.

Israel suspended negotiations for a peace agreement with the Palestinian Authority, which went on for nine months with the mediation of the United States, due to the establishment of the Palestinian national unity government.

President Abbas acted as a mediator throughout the 51-day long Operation Protective Edge. Earlier on Friday, Abbas blamed Hamas in a public statement for carrying out attacks against Israel for nearly two months, with more than 2,000 Palestinians killed in the Strip during that time.