Israel voted unanimously Thursday to suspend the next round of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations in the wake of the Palestinian announcement Wednesday of a reconciliation with Hamas. 

The decision, which came at the end of a seven-hour discussion in Tel Aviv, also included taking steps against unilateral moves by the Palestinians. Israel is seeking to extend the talks past the April 29 deadline, The Jerusalem Post reports. 

"Instead of choosing peace, Abu Mazen [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas] formed an alliance with a murderous terrorist organization that calls for Israel's destruction," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. "Abu Mazen formed an alliance with an organization whose covenant calls for Muslims to wage Jihad against Jews."

Netanyahu said Hamas has fired more than 10,000 missiles and rockets into Israel and did not stop "for a minute" in perpetrating terrorist actions against Israel. 

Last month, Abbas refused the framework of the agreement put forth by the U.S. and refused to recognize Israel as the nation of the Jewish people, Netanyahu said. Then in contradiction to the understandings that led to the current round of peace talks, he applied to 15 international conventions and treaties to boost Palestine's statehood credentials. 

Following those actions, Abbas shocked Washington Wednesday by striking a unity deal with Hamas, a terrorist group that is dedicated to Israel's destruction. 

Supporters of Abbas say that he is strategically advancing his power, while others say the 78-year-old leader is unfocused. 

"Abu Mazen is well aware that the legitimacy of the Palestinian political system as a whole is over, and the Palestinian situation is catastrophic and in the worst stage of its history," said Hussam Khader, a former parliamentarian from Abbas's own Fatah party.

Abbas was elected president in 2005, but his mandate expired five years ago. Nevertheless, there has been a prevention of a new vote with Abbas having limited self-rule in the West Bank and Hamas in control of the Gaza Strip. 

His bid at reconciliation is popular in the Palestinian territory and will most likely lead to elections in six months, Reuters reports. 

"Elections, by principle, are our choice, whether the talks succeed or they fail, because we want to renew our legitimacy," Abbas said Tuesday.

"We're not saying, 'It's either Hamas, or it's Israel.' ... If elections are agreed, I'm with the reconciliation, and also Israel is a partner for the peace process," he added. "A sovereign state won't be achieved except through negotiations."

While Abbas believes reconciliation with Hamas can occur during the peace talks, Israelis and Americans believe that such a reconciliation could threaten to end the talks altogether. 

Hamas won the Palestinian parliamentary polls in 2006 and, a year later, grabbed control of Gaza in a brief civil war against Abbas' Fatah faction, which is backed by the West. 

Abbas is seeking a Palestinian state in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which are lands that Israel captured in the Six-Day War in 1967. The latest round of negotiations, which began last July, were meant to last nine months. 

However, both sides say the negotiations have failed to tackle big issues, such as border and security arrangements, while Israel announced new settlements on Palestinian territory. Both sides also argued over recognizing Israel as a Jewish state. 

Fatah leaders say they are confident in the president's decision on behalf of their cause, now that another round of talks could be headed toward failure. 

"We have our choices, and we have our weapons at the international level and at the level of getting the internal Palestinian house in order," Fatah official Abbas Zaki told Palestinian radio Tuesday.