Anyone interested in Mideast peace should read this Haaretz article carefully:

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1069308.html

I trust the reporters are accurately relating what they are being told -- and what the headline states: that the U.S. will recognize a Palestinian government only if Salam Fayad remains prime minister. Coming the same day Fayad announced he is resigning -- responding to a key Hamas demand -- the report goes far toward sabotaging any Fatah-Hamas unity talks. This while the U.S. and the Quartet purport to be encouraging the idea of a unity government.

The key leak comes from the Clinton entourage at the recent donor conference, which also produced an embarrassing leak to the effect that Clinton did not expect diplomacy with Iran to bear fruit. If this is going to be Clinton's standard M.O. throughout her tenure at State, we might as well write off Obama's overture to the Islamic world right now.