Palestinian Deputy Prime Minister Nabil Shaath asserted on Saturday that if the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) wins the upcoming Palestinian legislative elections, it will join the new cabinet and influence future negotiations with Israel.

Shaath told the independent Palestinian Ramatan news agencythat if Hamas gains the majority of the Legislative Council seats, it will form the cabinet, which will "strike the negotiations" with Israel.

He also said that although some Hamas members considered negotiations with Israel as a possible new option while others rejected talks as totally useless.

In addition, Shaath, a member of the long dominant Fatah movement, warned that if Hamas won a landslide victory in the ballot due next Wednesday, it will "create problems on the Palestinian negotiations with Israel."

"It is impossible to work in the field of the armed resistance alone without getting into political negotiations with Israel inorder to achieve a final settlement to the conflict," he stressed.

Palestinians are scheduled to cast ballots in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem on Jan. 25 to choose a new legislature.The parliamentary polls are expected to witness a heated competition between Abbas' ruling Fatah movement and Hamas asanalysts say Hamas, sworn to Israel's destruction, is likely to score a big victory at the expense of Fatah.