Hamas refuses to name its choice for prime minister

GAZA, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Hamas said on Monday it had chosen one of its leaders to be the next Palestinian prime minister after a landslide victory in parliamentary elections, but refused to name him.

A spokesman for the Islamist militant group, which is considered a terrorist organisation by the United States, said Hamas has made its choice but declined to disclose the new appointee's name.

"The prime minister will be a leader in Hamas," Mushir al-Masri said.

The news came as the outgoing parliament met for a final session before Saturday's swearing-in of a legislature dominated by Hamas, whose reputation among Palestinians for integrity and charitable work helped secure its election last month.

Hamas was expected to begin formal talks next week on forming a government. It said it hoped to draw other factions into a national unity administration.

A Hamas prime minister could complicate any Middle East peace efforts because Israel and the United States have said they will not talk with members of the group, whose charter calls for the destruction of Israel.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose own Fatah faction was voted out of government, has good relations with Washington and would be expected to take the lead in future negotiations.

Hamas has masterminded more than 60 suicide bombings against Israelis since a Palestinian uprising began in 2000, but has largely adhered to a truce declared last March.

Top Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal brushed aside international calls for the group to give up its armed struggle against Israel in comments on Monday quoted in a Russian daily newspaper.

"At this stage there are no signs that the Israelis intend to end war against our people," Meshaal told Nezavisimaya Gazeta. "If Israel recognises our rights and undertakes to leave all occupied territories, Hamas and the Palestinian people will make a decision to end armed resistance."

LEADING CANDIDATE

Several sources close to the Hamas deliberations for a new prime minister said Ismail Haniyeh, head of Hamas's parliamentary slate, was a top contender for the post.

Haniyeh is a pragmatist who survived an Israeli air strike in 2003 targeting Hamas's leadership. But his militant background could be a further provocation to the United States.

As the current parliament reconvened in the West Bank city of Ramallah, political wrangling heated up. Hamas accused some Fatah lawmakers of proposing legislation that would give Abbas the power to dissolve parliament or void the election results.

Parliamentary speaker Rawhi Fattouh, a Fatah leader, rejected the charges. "The constitution gives us the right to approve decisions but we will leave these issues to the next parliament," Fattouh said.

The United States and Israel had hoped to pressure Hamas to recognise the Jewish state and renounce violence by squeezing it politically and economically. But Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week he would invite Hamas leaders for talks.

Meshaal, who lives in exile in Syria, said he was not impressed with the U.S.-led campaign to isolate Hamas.

"Alas, Americans continue to support Israel's policy, limiting their chances to establish normal cooperation with Palestine," he said.

"We have established diversified relations with Europeans and I do not think we should have problems in cooperating with the international community," Meshaal said.

(Additional reporting by Wafa Amr in Ramallah)