US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said yesterday that the militant Hamas needs to get a consistent message from the world until it accepts "certain" requirements.

"I do think we need to make certain that Hamas gets a very strong and consistent message from the world that until they have accepted certain requirements, they are not going to be welcome into the international community," Rice said while testifying at the House Appropriations Committee.

Rice said she has no doubt that there are going to be "some variations" in the way that countries deal with the existence of a Hamas-led government.

"But I think that the great majority of responsible states, and I would say even states in the Arab world, are saying to Hamas that it cannot be business as usual as long as they do not accept the three requirements: recognize the right of Israel, renounce violence and commit to disarmament," she said.

To the great dismay of the United States, Hamas won victory in January's Palestinian parliamentary elections and formed a Palestinian government. The United States has since been saying that it will not deal with Hamas if it does not change course.