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US and Israel warn Abbas against Hamas power deal

Posted on: Wednesday, 25 January 2006, 23:17 CST

By Wafa Amr and Mohammed Assadi

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Hamas made a strong showing in Palestinian elections, exit polls showed, prompting U.S. and Israeli warnings to President Mahmoud Abbas that peace efforts could be wrecked if he shared power with the Islamists.

The vote on Wednesday in the first Palestinian parliamentary polls for a decade made it possible Hamas, whose charter calls for Israel's destruction and whose members have been behind suicide bombings, could win cabinet posts in a coalition deal.

The electoral commission said official results were expected to emerge from about 10 a.m. on Thursday, but three exit polls put Abbas's ruling Fatah party ahead by margins of between only three and seven percentage points. They gave Hamas 35 to 44 percent and the long-dominant Fatah 42 to 47 percent.

Hamas, listed as a terrorist organization by Washington, was set to win at least 53 of the 132 seats against 58 for Fatah, potentially even giving it a chance to try to form a cabinet itself. Turnout was 78 percent of the 1.3 million voters.

The United States, main sponsor of an international "road map" for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, said it would accept the election results as a reflection of the will of the people but made clear Abbas should keep Hamas in opposition.

U.S, President George W. Bush said he would not deal with Hamas unless it renounced seeking Israel's destruction.

"A political party, in order to be viable, is one that professes peace, in my judgment, in order that it will keep the peace," Bush told the Wall Street Journal in an interview.

"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'."

ISRAELI STANCE

Israel's acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who took over from the ailing Ariel Sharon earlier this month, said: "We will not negotiate with a government that does not keep to its most basic commitment -- fighting terror."

Abbas, elected a year ago after the death of Yasser Arafat, the iconic first Palestinian president, said the Palestinian Authority was ready to resume long-stalled talks with Israel even if Hamas joined his government.

"We are approaching a new period and we hope that the international community will help us return to the negotiating table," said Abbas, welcoming the peaceful nature of the vote.

Abbas hopes once Hamas enters parliament it might be prepared to relinquish its weapons.

Despite signals this week that it might be open to indirect talks with Israel, Hamas said on Wednesday it would not change its charter or give up its weapons.

Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniya told Reuters the group was studying whether to consider joining any coalition government.

Both Fatah and Hamas claimed victory and celebrated noisily. Gaza Strip and West Bank towns filled with the sound of car horns and bursts of gunfire poured into the night sky.

"Our choice is Islam and we want change as soon as possible," Hamas supporter Nidal al-Jaberi said in Hebron.

A few streets away, a gunman, Mohammed Amr, said: "This result shows that Fatah will always be on top."

Hamas capitalized on internal Fatah divisions and the ruling party's reputation for corruption and mismanagement.

The group, a leading force in a five-year-old Palestinian uprising for statehood, has largely respected a truce with Israel for nearly a year.

Voting was orderly despite weeks of armed chaos, notably in Gaza, that had prompted fears of a delay.

Voters chose from 11 party lists across the Palestinian areas and more than 400 candidates running locally in the first parliamentary elections since 1996. About 900 foreign observers, led by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, were present.

Israeli troops pulled back from West Bank population centers to avoid any accusations of interfering in the polls.

(Additional reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza, Allyn Fisher-Ilan, Jeffrey Heller, Megan Goldin and Tali Caspi in Jerusalem, Haitham al-Tamimi in Hebron and Saul Hudson in Washington)

Source: REUTERS

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