Ehud Olmert, Israel's acting prime minister, has told George Bush, the US president, that there could be no progress in the Middle East peace process if Hamas enters a Palestinian government. On Thursday, in their first telephone conversation since Ariel Sharon was admitted to hospital, Olmert updated the US president on Sharon's health. The leaders also discussed this month's Palestinian parliamentary election which is being contested by the Islamist movement Hamas, the prime minister's office said. Olmert told Bush that Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader must "take steps against terrorism and disband the terrorist organisations because otherwise there can be no progress with an administration in which there are terrorist organisations as members".
Hamas is contesting the parliamentary elections for a first time on 25 January, giving the ruling Fatah faction the first real run for its money. A statement said: "Acting Prime Minister Olmert said that the Israeli people appreciated US President Bush's determination to fight terrorism and not compromise with it. The US president replied there can be no differentiation between kinds of terrorism and said that there can be no peace with terrorist organisations. He emphasised that the Palestinian Authority had to prove that it was able to act against terrorism and added that the US is working to establish democratic institutions in the PA that will advance peace and not terrorism."