Last Updated: Friday, 27 January 2006, 16:27 GMT
Supporters of the radical Islamist movement Hamas celebrate the group's apparent victory in the Palestinian parliamentary elections
Hamas supporters have been celebrating victory
World leaders have been reacting to the victory of the militant Islamic group Hamas in the Palestinian parliamentary elections.
Hamas took 76 out of the 132 seats in the poll, beating Mr Abbas' ruling Fatah faction.
Below is a selection of regional and international reaction.
Israeli
US
Arab League
United Nations
Palestinian
European
Iranian
Asian
EHUD OLMERT, Acting Israeli Prime Minister
The state of Israel will not negotiate with a Palestinian administration if even part of it is an armed terrorist organisation calling for the destruction of the state of Israel.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, leader of Israeli opposition party Likud
Today, Hamastan was formed, a representative of Iran and in the image of the Taleban.
SHIMON PERES, Israel's Kadima party
I think it is first of all a problem for the Palestinian people, not for Israel because Hamas is for a unilateral war not for a unilateral peace or withdrawal.
We shall not change our position. If Hamas doesn't want peace, doesn't want negotiations, if they want to continue their terrorist activities I don't think they will have any support from outside or from Israel.
GEORGE W BUSH, US President
The United States does not support a political party that wants to destroy our ally Israel. People must renounce that part of their platform. A political party that articulates the destruction of Israel as part of its platform is a party with which we will not deal.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, US Secretary of State
You cannot have one foot in politics and another in terror. Our position on Hamas has therefore not changed.
AMR MOUSSA, Arab League Secretary General
The US can't promote democracy but then reject the results of this democracy.
KOFI ANNAN, UN Secretary General
Any group that wishes to participate in the democratic process should ultimately disarm because to carry weapons and participate in a democratic process and sit in parliament, there is a fundamental contradiction and I'm sure they [Hamas] are thinking about that too.
SAMI ABU-ZUHRI, Hamas spokesman in Gaza
We have no enmity toward any Western country. Our enmity is only toward the occupation, which stole our land, displaced our people, and continues to kill us.
MAHMOUD ABBAS, Palestinian President
I am committed to implementing the programme on which you [the Palestinian people] elected me a year ago. It is a programme based on negotiations and peaceful settlement with Israel.
SAEB EREKAT, Palestinian chief negotiator and Fatah member
Today we woke up and the sky was a different colour. We have entered a new era.
MUSTAFA BARGHOUTI, Independent Palestine Movement chief
If Hamas forms the cabinet alone this will lead to a severe political crisis. If Fatah forms a government that will be opposed by a strong majority of the council, this will paralyse Fatah completely.
So I think there is a moment of truth here, and people have chosen and they have to meet the results of what they've chosen.
TONY BLAIR, UK Prime Minister
It is important for Hamas to understand that there comes a point - and that point is now following that strong showing - where they have to decide between a path of democracy or a path of violence.
JAVIER SOLANA, EU foreign policy chief
The European Union has supported the smooth running of these elections. We await confirmation of the results.
These results may confront us with an entirely new situation, which will need to be analysed by [EU foreign ministers] next Monday.
DOMINIQUE DE VILLEPIN, French Prime Minister
We are faced with a situation which prompts me to express my concern. What I hope is that the essential conditions for working with a Palestinian government - whatever it may be - can be met.
First, the renunciation of violence and agreeing to move forward according to the peace objectives that have been fixed.
And second, recognition of the state of Israel and international agreements.
SILVIO BERLUSCONI, Italian Prime Minister
If the news is true, it would be very, very negative, unfortunately.
Everything that we have hoped for regarding peace between Israel and Palestine would be put back to who knows when.
HAMID REZA ASEFI, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman
Iran... hopes that the powerful presence of Hamas at the scene brings about great achievements for the Palestinian nation.
HAMID KARZAI, Afghan President
Statements not accepting Israel, demanding the extinction of Israel do not help the Palestinian people, do not help the peace process.
HASSAN WIRAYUDA, Indonesian Foreign Minister
We hope and also urge the new government from the Palestinian election to continue efforts for dialogue and negotiations.
Last Updated: Thursday, 26 January 2006, 18:27 GMT
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Q&A: Hamas election victory
Hamas supporters
It has been Hamas' first foray into parliamentary elections
The Islamic resistance movement Hamas has scored a stunning win in the first Palestinian parliamentary election which it has taken part in.
The BBC's Martin Asser examines the consequences.
How much of a shock is a Hamas victory?
A big shock. Almost no one was predicting that Hamas would win a clear majority in the Palestinian parliament.
Even the exit polls put the mainstream Fatah party - which has dominated Palestinian politics since the 1960s - ahead by a few percentage points.
Most observers had been predicting a hung parliament with the two sides forced into a coalition.
However, the signs of deep dissatisfaction with Fatah have been visible for years: its corruption, inefficiency, and lack of progress in achieving the Palestinians' national goals of independence and a just settlement with Israel.
So perhaps the world should not be that surprised by the win - though even Hamas will be surprised at the size of the victory.
What are the implications for Palestinians of Hamas forming a government?
Many Palestinians will have voted for Hamas because of its perceived discipline and integrity, and its strong anti-Israeli ideology.
It is still too early to say how these characteristics will manifest themselves in a Hamas-led Palestinian government.
Some of the lustre may well rub off when Hamas faces the realities of administration in the very tough circumstances of the Israeli occupation and the breakdown of order on the Palestinian side.
It will doubtless concentrate on the domestic side, tackling issues such as law and order, poverty and healthcare. The imposition of strict Islamic government is not expected.
The movement's charter and philosophy will probably come under intense scrutiny, as Fatah's did when Yasser Arafat set up the Palestinian Authority in the 1990s.
And a lot depends on whether Hamas will form a unity coalition with Fatah - as it says it wants to - which may temper some of its hardline policies regarding Israel and a return to the peace process.
What are the implications for Israel and international diplomacy?
Some Palestinians argue that Hamas' participation in elections signifies a de facto recognition of Israel and a two-state peace deal, although Hamas denies this.
Israel says it will negotiate with the Palestinians if militant groups are disarmed.
Now the biggest armed militant group has taken control of the political sphere as well as the "resistance".
Most likely, therefore, is a continuation of the unilateral policy forged by Ariel Sharon in Gaza, and backed by acting Israeli PM Ehud Olmert: Withdrawal from occupied territory in the West Bank and a retreat to Israeli-drawn, defendable borders.
That is if the Kadima party wins the election due on 28 March. Hamas' victory may fuel support for the right-wing Likud party, which argued that Israel should have opposed elections in which Hamas took part.
The US and the international community are also in fix, and will demand major concessions from Hamas before they do business with it.
Hamas is currently maintaining a ceasefire, but remains committed to the armed struggle, the destruction of Israel and retaliatory attacks on Israeli civilians.
It is an open question what will happen to the large international aid budget received by the Palestinian Authority mainly from the European Union, which categorises Hamas as a terrorist organisation.
Who might become the Hamas prime minister?
It is ironic that the position of Palestinian prime minister was created in 2003 in response to US pressure to devolve power away from the powerful presidency of Yasser Arafat.
The position until now has held little importance. That will change dramatically with a Hamas incumbent invested with a popular mandate.
Hamas is led by a complicated and covert system that was established in response to Israel's assassination of several of its top leaders in recent years.
Some of its top leaders live in exile in Syria and Lebanon.
The top name on Hamas' electoral list was the Gaza political leader Ismail Haniya - considered a moderate in the movement's ranks whose position on the list was seen as an appeal to mainstream voters.
He would therefore seem a natural choice to become prime minister.
Another possibility would be Mahmoud Zahhar, also based in Gaza, a co-founder of the organisation with Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, who may be more hardline than Mr Haniya, but is believed to have been the leading advocate of Hamas' participation in the election.
What is the position of the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas?
Hamas' victory does not directly affect the presidency of Mr Abbas, who was elected for a four-year term in office in January 2005.
It is his job to pick the prime minister, but he must do so in co-ordination with the largest party in parliament - Hamas.
It is the first time the Palestinian government has had a situation of "cohabitation" between the executive and legislative branches, and it is not clear how the relationship will take shape.
But such a powerful mandate for Hamas will clearly eat away at the authority Mr Abbas gained last year with his own crushing win in presidential elections - a contest that Hamas boycotted.
On the plus side for him, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned to tell him that the United States "would continue to back him and policies", according to his spokesman.
Washington has not confirmed the exact content of the conversation yet, but President George W Bush said during a news conference: "We'd like him to stay in power."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4650300.stm
BBC NEWS | Middle East | Q&A: Hamas election victory
It has been Hamas' first foray into parliamentary elections The Islamic resistance movement Hamas has scored a stunning win in the first Palestinian parliamentary election which it has taken part in. The BBC's Martin Asser examines the consequences. How mu
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