BERLIN, March 20 (UPI) -- Despite opposition from Israel, Berlin and the European Union are mulling to negotiate with Palestine's Hamas-led unity government, a German news magazine reported.
The German government, which is currently holding the rotating six-month EU presidency, and EU leaders, are willing to make overtures to the new Palestinian government, German news magazine Der Spiegel reported in its latest issue.
Behind the scenes, senior political leaders are considering to establish contacts first with moderate ministers and eventually, EU money could once again flow to fund the government, the news magazine said, citing unnamed sources in Brussels.
"They have undertaken great efforts," a senior diplomat in the German Foreign Ministry told the magazine. "It would be catastrophic if the Europeans were now to say the whole thing had been an April Fool's Joke."
The overtures have been rejected by Jerusalem. "The Israelis are particularly alarmed by the fact that even German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is viewed as one of Israel's most steadfast allies, has reacted positively towards the recent Palestinian development," Der Spiegel writes. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert wants to use his good relations with Berlin to keep the boycott in place.
So far, the Quartet on the Middle East -- comprised of the United States, Russia, the EU and the United Nations -- has placed three conditions on the Palestinian government before it would mull negotiations: the recognition of Israel's right to exist, the refraining from all violence, and compliance with previous agreements of the Road Map.
