The ball is about to be in Obama’s court. Either fund a government that includes a designated terror group, which I doubt is even legal, or defund his Palestinian allies which will infuriate his far-left base.

(Haaretz) — Hamas will participate in any future Palestinian government, a senior official from the Islamist group said Thursday, refuting press reports that it might opt not to take part in a future administration.

“Nothing would prevent us” from participating in any government after new elections, Salah al-Bardaweel, a high-ranking Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip told the German Press Agency DPA.

The comments came after earlier media reports Thursday that Hamas might exclude itself from a future government — even if it won in elections — if that helped such a government to avoid international isolation.

“This is totally incorrect and totally untrue,” said al-Bardaweel, arguing that the reports were intended to isolate Hamas politically and diplomatically.

Hamas in April agreed to a reconciliation with the secular Fatah, the other major Palestinian bloc, after years of a sometimes bloody stand-off between the two, clearing the way for the two to form a unity government.

But Hamas’ participation in any future government could turn into a diplomatic stumbling block for any Palestinian government, as Hamas’ refusal to recognize Israel’s right to exist and its refusal to honor past Israeli-Palestinian agreements keeps entities like the United States and the European Union from recognizing it.