Hamas Wins Election

A Palestinian youth, waving the Palestinian flag, celebrates the victory of Hamas in parliamentary elections in the West Bank city of Jenin on Thursday Jan. 26, 2006. Hamas won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections as Palestinian voters rejected the longtime rule of the Fatah party.

Israelis hold banners during a gathering in Jerusalem on Jan. 26, 2006, at the site of a 2002 suicide bomb attack carried out by the Islamic group Hamas that killed 11 people. Hamas, which has carried out dozens of suicide bombings, won an outright majority of parliamentary seats in Wednesday's Palestinian parliament elections, and will have a right to form the next Palestinian government.

An injured Fatah party supporter who was hit with a stone, is pushed away as he looks out through a shattered window of the Palestinian parliament building in the West Bank town of Ramallah on Thursday Jan. 26, 2006. Hamas supporters briefly raised their flag over the Palestinian parliament and rushed into the building, amid clashes with Fatah loyalists.

A Palestinian supporter of Hamas holds the Quran as he celebrates the victory of his movement in the parliamentary elections in the West Bank city of Nablus Thursday Jan. 26, 2006. The Islamic Hamas won a huge majority in parliamentary elections as Palestinian voters rejected the longtime rule of the Fatah Party, throwing the future of Mideast peacemaking into question.

A supporter of the Islamic group Hamas waves flags from the roof of the Palestinian parliament building in the West Bank town of Ramallah on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2006. Palestinian leaders, stunned by the militant group's sweeping victory, huddled to determine the shape of a new government as world leaders, including President Bush, insisted Hamas renounce violence and recognize Israel's right to exist.

Hamas supporters celebrate victory in the Palestinian parliamentary elections Thursday, Jan. 26, 2006. Palestinian voters rejected the longtime rule of the Fatah party, throwing the future of Mideast peacemaking into question. At center is the portrait of Ahmed Ali, a Hamas candidate in Nablus.

Palestinian supporters of Hamas walk to a victory gathering in Bait Lahiya in northern Gaza Strip on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2006.

President Bush answers questions on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2006, during a news conference at the White House. Mr. Bush said that Hamas cannot be a partner for Middle East peacemaking without renouncing violence, and he reiterated that the United States will not deal with Palestinian leaders who do not recognize Israel's right to exist.

Members of the Palestinian presidential guard march at Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2006.

Hamas militants demonstrate in the Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2006. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas will ask Hamas to form the next government after the Islamic militants swept parliament elections.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speaks on screen by video link, during a session entitled "Can a Ball Change the World" at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 26, 2006. Rice said the U.S. position on Hamas as a terrorist organization has not changed, despite the militant group's stunning victory in Palestinian elections. "You cannot have one foot in politics and another in terror," Rice said.

A Palestinian man reads a newspaper a day after the Palestinian parliamentary elections at the center of the West Bank town of Ramallah on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2006.

Hamas leader, and top candidate for the Palestinian parliamentary elections, Ismail Hanieh salutes supporters outside his home at the al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza City on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2006. Leaders of both Hamas and the ruling Fatah party said Thursday that Hamas won an outright majority of parliamentary seats in the elections held Wednesday, though official results were not yet available.

Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erekat briefs the media outside Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' office in the West Bank town of Ramallah on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2006. Leaders of both Hamas and the ruling Fatah party said Thursday that Hamas won an outright majority of parliamentary seats, though official results were not yet available.