Fatah, Hamas reach deal - an Israeli self-inflicted wound

And Bibi Netanyahu craps in pants.

Per the Times story, Netanyahu says that if this is a fait accompli, it will kill Middle East peace talks.

“You can’t have peace with both Israel and Hamas,” Haaretz quoted him as saying. “Choose peace with Israel.”

Actually, per the al Jazeera leaks, as I blogged here, here and here, Bibi plus current Kadima leader Tzipi Livni, with a significant assist from the United States, killed Middle East peace talks over the past two years and left Fatah (Palestinian Authority) leader Mahmoud Abbas no choice but to seek some sort of deal with Hamas.

That said, the "regime change" in the Middle East has to be staring over Abbas' shoulder. Per Glenn Greenwald, American popularity among Egyptians is even worse since Obama became president. That includes the fact that by a 54-36 percent margin, Egyptians favor junking the peace treaty with Israel.

With such numbers, Bibi will certainly be pushing Obama to lean on the eventual new leadership to stay in lockstep. And, much as Israel dislikes Syria, who knows what new leadership would emerge there if Bashar Assad is toppled?