The sensational victory for the Islamist movement in Wednesday's election has thrown prospects for Middle East peacemaking into turmoil and triggered alarm in Israel and across the world.

Moderate Palestinian Authority president Abbas was to ask Hamas to form a new government, with the chief candidate for the Islamist movement saying he expected a meeting in the next few days.

Israel ruled out talks and the vanquished Fatah Party rejected a joint government with Hamas after the Islamic movement's sweeping victory in Palestinian elections, in what could be first steps to isolate the militant group and freeze Middle East peace initiatives.

The US and European nations declared Thursday that Hamas could not form a legitimate government unless it drops its demand to destroy Israel and renounces violence.

"If your platform is the destruction of Israel, it means you're not a partner in peace, and we're interested in peace," President Bush said. Similar statements came from other parts of the world.

European parliament members spoke of the possibility that donors would cut off vital aid, putting Hamas under extreme pressure to moderate its hardline positions. The US consul in Jerusalem, Jacob Walles, said Friday it was too early to discuss the possibility.

Israel was unprepared for the Hamas landslide. Foreign and defence ministry scenarios put such a stunning blow to the long-ruling Fatah as a low probability, officials said.

But after the rout, Israel's acting prime minister, Ehud Olmert, quickly ruled out talks: "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," Olmert said in a statement.

Fatah, turned out of office by Palestinians angry over its corrupt and inefficient government, offered no help to Hamas, catapulted into leadership after its first foray into parliamentary politics.

Despite the ballot-box endorsement of Hamas's militant tactics, Abbas said he remained committed to reaching peace with Israel through negotiations.

"I am determined to implement the programme on which I was elected," Abbas said in a televised address. "It is a programme which is based on negotiations as a means to reach a peaceful resolution to the conflict with Israel."

Abbas confirmed that he would ask Hamas to form a new government. "Of course, I am going to ask the majority party to form the government," he told reporters.

Ismail Haniya, Hamas's top candidate in the election, which saw the movement win 76 of the 132 seats in parliament, said he would meet Abbas in the next few days to discuss forming a "political partnership".

While Hamas will now almost certainly head up the government, its areas of responsibility would be limited to domestic issues such as health, education and unemployment.

Peace negotiations, already frozen for many months, and foreign policy will essentially remain within the remit of Abbas.

Deputies said the new government would likely allow Abbas to take the lead on peace negotiations.

"I do not think that there will be any interference between the president's prerogatives and those of the next prime minister as the basic law clearly defines the role between the two," said the outgoing deputy speaker of the parliament, Hassan Khreisheh.

Outgoing independent MP Azmi Shuebi added that the "prime minister is responsible for domestic policy while foreign policy is in the president's hands."

The leadership of Hamas, whose charter calls for the destruction of the Jewish state, issued contrasting statements during the campaign about how they would try to bring peace to the region.

However they all maintained the "right" to pursue armed conflict at the same time as embracing parliamentary democracy for the first time.

Despite being behind the majority of attacks during a five-year Palestinian uprising, Hamas has carried out no bombings for more than a year.

Yet international players in the stalled peace process made clear that Hamas would need to do more than hold fire if it wanted legitimacy.

The diplomatic "quartet" behind a peace plan known as the roadmap urged Hamas to not only renounce violence but also accept Israel's right to exist.

The quartet issued its statement after a conference call of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and external relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner.

"A two-state solution to the conflict requires all participants in the democratic process to renounce violence and terror, accept Israel's right to exist, and disarm, as outlined in the roadmap," which targets the creation of a Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel.

The result confronted Israel's Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert with his first major crisis since assuming the reins of power from coma-stricken Ariel Sharon on January 4.

After Olmert discussed the result with senior political and defence officials, the government stated it would "not negotiate with a Palestinian administration if its members include an armed terrorist organisation that calls for the destruction of the state of Israel."

Olmert himself faces an election on March 28, aware his Kadima party's lead in the polls could be whittled away if the situation on the ground unravels.

Right-wing opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu said the victory for Hamas was a result of Israel's unilateral pullout over the summer from the Gaza Strip "which communicated weakness and that Hamas' terror works."

While violence on election day was minimal, armed clashes between Hamas and Fatah supporters in Gaza highlighted the lingering tensions. Three people were taken to hospital after the clashes in the southern town of Khan Yunis.

"Even in Fatah's worst nightmares and Hamas's best dreams, the earthquake that took place could not have been predicted," the Palestinian newspaper Al-Ayyam said.