US diplomats, considering to have contact with Palestinian officials, will have to clarify beforehand whether they have links to Hamas, the State Department said yesterday.

The reason for that is "It's a period of change. You have a Hamas-led government. You also have (Palestinian) President (Mahmoud) Abbas. You have independent members of parliament, as well, who are not Hamas," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told a news briefing.

"We will not have contact with members of Hamas, no matter what title they may have," McCormack said, noting the United States would examine its contacts with the Palestinian Authority and Palestinian diplomats around the world.

A notice has been sent to U.S. diplomats outlining procedures they should take if questions arise about the affiliations of Palestinian officials, the spokesman said.

Hamas, officially called the Islamic Resistance Movement, won a large parliamentary majority in elections in January.

The United States, which consider Hamas to be a terror organization, has rejected talks with Hamas until it renounces violence, accepts interim peace deals and recognizes Israel's right to exit.