“I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble,” the psalmist intones in this Sunday’s psalm response. Troubled Middle East peace efforts went another problematic direction Monday when Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas turned toward the Islamic militant group Hamas, agreeing to head an interim unity government that will prepare for elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

By moving closer to Hamas, Abbas appeared to be closing the door for now on any possibility of peace talks with Israel, although all such efforts have failed to get off the ground during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's three years in office. Netanyahu condemned Monday's deal, saying it would be impossible to reach peace with a government that includes Hamas, which Israel and the West consider a terrorist group. "It is either peace with Hamas or peace with Israel. You can't have them both," Netanyahu said.

The Palestinians have been divided between rival governments since Hamas ousted forces loyal to Abbas from Gaza in 2007. Monday's agreement, brokered by Qatar, seemed to bring reconciliation within reach for the first time. Previous deals have collapsed amid deep suspicions and intervention by the sides' rival foreign patrons. Abbas is backed by the West while Hamas has been supported by Iran.

In recent months these differences seem to have narrowed. Abbas has lost faith in reaching a deal, at least with the current hard-line Israeli government, while Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal has been prodding his organization toward a more pragmatic stance that is closer to that of the group's parent movement, the pan-Arab Muslim Brotherhood.

The European Union offered qualified support Monday, saying it considered Palestinian reconciliation and elections to be important steps toward an eventual Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.

Sources: Articles by Karin Laub and Mohammed Daraghmeh for the
Associated Press and Ethan Bronner for the New York Times