Bush: Hamas must profess peace

U.S. President George W. Bush said Wednesday the United States will not deal with Hamas until the group renounces its position calling for the destruction of Israel.

"A political party, in order to be viable, is one that professes peace, in my judgment, in order that it will keep the peace," the president said after an apparently strong showing by Hamas in Palestinian parliamentary voting.

"And so you're getting a sense of how I'm going to deal with Hamas if they end up in positions of responsibility. And the answer is: not until you renounce your desire to destroy Israel will we deal with you." He made his remarks in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

However, it seems that Hamas officials remained unimpressed by Bush's unequivocal remarks. A short while after initial results were published, senior Hamas leader and candidate Mahmoud al-Zahar said his group is "not going to change a single word" in its covenant calling for Israel's destruction.

Early exit polling suggested Hamas placed a close second to the ruling Fatah Party, and the rival groups could end up forming a governing coalition.

Strong voter support for Hamas, responsible for dozens of suicide bombings against Israel, places the terror group inside the Palestinian political system for the first time.

Meanwhile, the United States and other sponsors of a plan to draw Israelis and Palestinians back to the peace table will reassess peace prospects next week in light of the Palestinian voting.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and other members of the "Quartet" of would-be international peacemakers will meet Monday in London, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

The Quartet is on record against allowing Palestinian Authority cabinet status for anyone who has not renounced violence or recognized Israel's right to exist. Hamas has done neither.

Rice has said Hamas represents a "practical problem" for Israel in pursuing peace contacts. Hamas also poses a practical problem for the United States and European nations that list it as a terrorist organization.

"We don't deal with Hamas. And under the current circumstances, I don't see that changing," McCormack said.

Even so, he did not rule out dealing with the Palestinian Authority at large, which will still be led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. McCormack also would not say whether the United States would withhold aid to the Palestinians if Hamas is in the government, although other U.S. officials have indicated that could happen.

"As for what policies the United States and the quartet pursues based on what kind of Palestinian Authority there is, what kind of policies they pursue, we'll see" what the elections produce, McCormack said. "We're not there yet."