Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) top candidate for Wednesday's parliamentary elections said Thursday that Mahmoud Abbas would never quit his post as the president of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) because he had done a successful job.

"Our ties with Abbas are very good and built on mutual respect. Though we have political differences between us, we are not in a status of confrontation with Abbas," Ismael Haneya told a news conference in Gaza City with other Hamas candidates after the militant group won a stunning victory in the legislative elections.

"These elections were a victory for the Palestinian people and a referendum on the (Hamas) program of resistance and reforms," added Haneya.

Hamas won 76 of 132 seats in parliament, while the long- dominant Fatah movement led by Abbas gained 43 seats, according to preliminary official results on Thursday.

Abbas vowed Thursday to continue peace negotiations with Israel to end the conflict.

But Israeli emergency cabinet meeting decided Thursday night that Israel would not negotiate with Hamas until it renounced violence and recognized Israel's right to exist, a demand echoed by the U.S. president George W. Bush.

Abbas, who talked Hamas and other militant factions to observe a truce deal with Israel last March, refused to disarm these groups by force for fear of sparking civil war.

Source: Xinhua