The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) surprisingly won a crushing victory in Wednesday's Palestinian parliamentary elections.
World leaders' reaction to the results was almost unanimous. Fearing that the radical military group's coming to power would harm the peace process in the Middlea East, they demanded it commit itself to the path of peace.
Hanna Nasser, chief of the Central Election Commission (CEC) said Hamas won 76 seats and Fatah got 43 seats in the new 132-seat parliament.
Nasser told reporters in an official announcement that the Hamas movement won 30 PLC seats in the lists and 46 seats in the constituencies.
The Fatah movement won 27 seats in the lists and 16 seats in the constituencies.
The official result came after Hamas claimed earlier on Thursday that it had garnered 77 seats in the elections.
It was the first legislative bid for Hamas, a major radical militant group against Israeli occupation which boycotted the first elections and voiced opposition to the Oslo Accords signed in 1993.
Fatah, a previously dominant movement led by President Mahmoud Abbas, admitted defeat after the Hamas victory.
Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei on Thursday presented a letter of resignation to Abbas, paving the way for the winner to form a new cabinet.
The surprising victory for Hamas adds uncertainty to the prospects of the Mideast peace process, as the militant group is still listed as a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and the European Union (EU).
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan hailed the "peaceful and orderly" conduct of the Palestinian elections.
In a statement released by his spokesman, Annan said he viewed the elections as an important step towards the achievement of a Palestinian state.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana voiced the bloc's joy over the smooth running of the Palestinian elections, saying the EU would analyze the "new situation" of Palestine soon.
According to Solana, the Quartet -- the EU, the United Nations, the United States and Russia -- will hold a ministerial meeting next Monday in London to "discuss this new situation."
US President George W. Bush called on Hamas to abandon violence. "I know you can't be a partner for peace if your party has got an armed wing," he told a White House news conference.
Meanwhile, he said he wants Palestinian President Abbas to stay in office despite Hamas' election victory.
"We'd like him to stay in power. I mean, we'd (like) him to stay in office. He is in power. We'd like him to stay in office," Bush said.
Earlier on Thursday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also called Abbas to say that Washington supports him and his policies.
Acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel will not negotiate with a new Palestinian government that includes Hamas members.
An Israeli emergency cabinet meeting on Thursday night decided that Israel would not negotiate with Hamas until it renounced violence and recognized Israel's right to exist.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier called on Hamas to renounce violence if it takes part in government.
"Those taking part in government must swear off the use of violence," he noted, saying the second condition was to recognize Israel's right to exist.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Russia has "always respected and will respect the democratic choice of the Palestinian people."
"It will be of fundamental importance that all participants in the Palestinian political process should be committed to peacefully fulfilling the internationally recognized expectations of the Palestinian people," it said.
Iran congratulated Hamas on its victory. "The Palestinian people faithfully chose the option of resistance and are to fully support it," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi said.
The Swedish government warned that Hamas would have to change its ways to win cooperation from the EU.
"Hamas must radically change its policies, otherwise Sweden and the EU will not be able to cooperate with a future Palestinian government in which Hamas will have a dominant position," Foreign Minister Laila Freivalds said.
Egypt said it respects the results of the Palestinian parliamentary elections and expressed the hope that the results could help push forward the peace process in the region.