January 28, 2006	Saturday	Zilhaj 27, 1426

WASHINGTON, Jan 27: In the first US reaction to Hamas’s stunning election victory, President George Bush said on Thursday the United States will not deal with the group unless it ‘renounces violence and its calls for Israel’s destruction’.

“I have made it very clear, however, that a political party that articulates the destruction of Israel as part of a platform is a party with which we will not deal,” Mr Bush said.

Mr Bush told a White House news conference that the group’s stunning electoral win reflected widespread dissatisfaction with the previous Palestinian government rather than a desire to wipe out Israel.

“It’s a wake-up call to the leadership. Obviously, people were not happy with the status quo. And so the elections should open the eyes of the old guard there in the Palestinian territories.

“The people are demanding honest government. The people want services. They want to be able to raise their children in an environment in which they can get a decent education and they can find health care,” he said.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has begun consultations with members of the Middle East Quartet to evilve a strategy to tackle the situation in the wake of Hamas’s victory.

Ms Rice initiated a 20-minute conference call with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.