(IsraelNN.com) On Sunday evening at Bar Ilan University, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu delivered his long-awaited reply to U.S. President Barack Obama’s historic Cairo speech. Netanyahu did say the words ‘Palestinian state’ which nationalists hoped he would not say. However, he also laid down stringent conditions for establishment of such a state, and — arguably — even for negotiations to take place.

Toward the end of the speech, Netanyahu said: “Above all else, the Palestinians must decide between the path of peace and the path of Hamas. The Palestinian Authority will have to establish the rule of law in Gaza and overcome Hamas. Israel will not sit at the negotiating table with terrorists who seek their destruction.”

This appears to indicate that the very act of restarting negotiations with the PA is conditional upon its defeating the Hamas terror militia in Gaza.