Mark Regev, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said the talks were "suspended now" because of pending moves by the Palestinians to establish a unity government that would be backed by the militant Islamist group Hamas as well as the more moderate Fatah faction of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. After a meeting that lasted several hours, the Israeli security Cabinet issued a statement that said it had "unanimously decided that Israel will not negotiate with a Palestinian government backed by Hamas, a terrorist organization that calls for Israel's destruction." Fatah, which is dominant in the West Bank, supports negotiations for the establishment of a Palestinian state in that territory, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, but Hamas refuses to recognize Israel and advocates armed action against the Israelis.