The World Jewish Congress (WJC) expressed its outrage and condemnation of Wednesday's agreement signed between the main Palestinian government rivals, Fatah and Hamas, in Cairo.
"The Fatah-Hamas agreement is a prize for terror and a setback for peace," said Ronald S.Lauder, WJC president.
He added that the pact is also an assault against the United States, recalling that on Monday, Hamas' leader Ismail Haniyeh had condemned America's "assassination" of Osama Bin Laden and called it a "continuation of the US policy of spilling Arab and Muslim blood. Haniyeh called 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."
The World Jewish Congress urged the United States and all other donor countries to freeze financial aid to the Hamas-Fatah regime and to clarify their opposition to any premature UN recognition of Palestinian statehood.