Rajub, a brother of former PA strongman Jibril Rajub, said Hamas was succeeding in finding "alternative financial aid" from Arab and Muslim sources.  "If we succeed in reforming our financial and administrative policies, we will be able to save a lot of money, and that would help us achieve a semblance of independence from American blackmail."

Rajub said Israel would have to account to the world in case it chose to abort Palestinian democracy by arresting the newly-elected members of parliament. "If they arrested us and thwart the modicum of democracy that we have, that would be a clarion message to the international community that Israel is anti-democratic and a truly criminal occupier."

NYT report

The New York Times on Tuesday reported that the US and Israel were discussing ways to isolate and destabilise Hamas if it failed to recognise Israel's right to exist, renounce armed resistance and accept previous Palestinian-Israeli agreements.

According to the paper, the goal of the campaign would be to ensure the newly-elected Hamas officials fail and new elections to be called by Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian President.

However,  a senior PA foreign ministry official told Aljazeera.net that "all Palestinians, not just Hamas, reject efforts to undercut and corrode Palestinian democracy".

Hamas has said it will not give 'free recognition' to Israel

 Abd Allah Abd Allah, the official in the PA foreign ministry, said: "We all strongly reject this unethical interference in Palestinian internal affairs. Hamas is a democratic movement and has come to power through a free and democratic elections. The world should give it a chance."

He pointed out that Hamas was moving steadily towards "the Palestinian national consensus", adding that the gap between Fatah and Hamas was narrowing.

"I have to remind everybody that, not only Hamas, but Fatah as well insists on total Israeli withdrawal from the territories occupied in 1967."

Hamas has repeatedly said it would not give Israel a free recognition.

Moderate view

Some of Hamas's more moderate leaders, such as Ismail Haniya and Aziz Duwaik, have argued that Israel will have to define its borders before Hamas can decide whether or not to recognise Israel.

Aziz Duwaik in an interview with Aljazeera.net last week said: "Which Israel do they want us to recognise? Is it Israel with the West Bank, Israel with the Golan Heights, Israel with East Jerusalem, Israel from the Nile to the Euphrates, let Israel show us its borders, and then we talk about mutual recognition."

On its part, Israel said it would seek to build an international coalition against the "upcoming Hamas administration".

Mark Regev, a spokesman for the Israeli foreign ministry said: "The US, Israel, Australia and Japan as well as many other countries will not deal with Hamas until it recognises Israel's right to exist and abandon terror."