Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has formally asked Hamas to form the next Palestinian government but warned that he will not allow anyone to to question the legitimacy of interim peace deals with Israel.
Speaking at the swearing in of the Hamas-dominated parliament in the West Bank town Ram Allah he offered his help and encouragement in the speedy creation of a new administration.
He said the Hamas victory in last month's parliament
election - and the defeat of his own Fatah Party - have led to new political reality.
"Therefore, it (Hamas) will be asked to form the new government," Abbas told Saturday's opening session.
"On my part, you will find all the cooperation and encouragement you need, because our national interest is our first and final goal, and is above any individual faction."
The swearing-in follows Hamas' sensational victory last month over Abbas's Fatah party, winning 74 seats to Fatah's 45.
Hamas MPs in the Gaza Strip participated in the inauguratiuon ceremony via video link-up, because Israel had banned them from travelling to the West Bank.
The new parliament is only the second legislature to be inaugurated since 1994.
Hamas is widely expected to nominate Ismail Haniya as prime minister.
He is one of the movement's Gaza-based leaders and considered a pragmatic radical by many.
Aziz al-Duwaik, a geography professor from the southern West Bank city of Hebron, has already been chosen as the speaker of parliament.
Road map plea
Hamas has staunchly opposed the interim autonomy agreements, known as the Oslo Accords, which were signed in the 1990s.
Under the terms of the so-called road map, the Palestinian recognises Israel's right to exist and calls for a Palestinian state alongside a secure Jewish state.
Speaking at Saturday's ceremony, Abbas urged the new government to continue a truce agreed with Israel more than a year ago and follow all agreements signed by the previous administration.
"We have not and will not accept any questioning of the
accords' legitimacy," he said.
"Indeed, from the hour they were endorsed, they became a political reality to which we remain committed."
The United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations drew up the blueprint for the peace plan and are demanding that Hamas recognise Israel and renounce its armed struggle.
Hamas, deemed a terrorist organisation by the United States and several other Western nations, has called for the destruction of Israel.
Horrified at the prospect of what it considers a terrorist government, Israel is expected to greet the new parliament by approving a series of sanctions directed at restricting Palestinian residents, goods and finances.
One possible move is an immediate freeze on the transfer of customs duties collected by Israel on Palestinians' behalf - about $50 million a month or about one-third of the Palestinian Authority's annual budget.
Haniya has already lambasted the plans as a "policy of repression, terrorism and collective punishment against our people."
PHOTO CAPTION
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, gestures as he arrives at his headquarters prior to the swearing-in session of the incoming Palestinian Parliament in the West Bank town of Ramallah Saturday Feb. 18, 2006. (AP)