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Washington: President George W. Bush said on Thursday that Hamas cannot be partner for Middle East peacemaking without renouncing violence, and he reiterated that the United States will not deal with Palestinian leaders who do not recognise Israel's right to exist. Bush said the Palestinian election in which the militant group Hamas swept to a shock victory were a sign Palestinians were unhappy with the status quo but urged Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to remain in power. He said the election showed democracy at work, which was positive for the Middle East region. "What was also positive is that it was a wake up call to the leadership, obviously people were not happy with the status quo," Bush told a White House news conference.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday that the US position on Hamas as a terrorist organisation has not changed with the group's stunning victory in Palestinian elections, and Palestinian leaders must renounce violence and terror if they want world support. "You cannot have one foot in politics and another in terror," Rice told the World Economic Conference in Davos, Switzerland via a telephone hookup to the State Department. "Our position on Hamas has therefore not changed." Rice spoke shortly after Palestinian voters rejected the longtime rule of the Fatah Party, throwing the future of Mideast peacemaking into question. "Palestinian people have apparently voted for change, but we believe their aspirations for peace and a peaceful life remain unchanged," she said. Rice said those goals will require renunciation of violence and terrorism and acceptance of Israel's right to exist side-by-side with a Palestinian state.
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