LONDON (AP) – The United States and other would-be Mideast peacemakers struggled Monday to present a clear ultimatum to the Palestinians’ incoming Hamas leaders that they must change their ways to keep the foreign aid they desperately need.

The future of aid was unclear, with both Hamas and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas appealing for continued world support, President Bush insisting the United States won’t give direct aid to a government that includes terrorists, and European leaders hedging their bets. Of the Palestinian Authority’s $1.6 billion annual budget, $1 billion comes from Europe, the United States and other donor countries and international agencies, $70 million of that from the U.S.

At meetings between U.S. and European diplomats, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice minimized any differences over aid to an extremist Islamic group that does not recognize Israel’s right to exist.

“Everybody is saying exactly the same thing. … You cannot be on one hand dedicated to peace and on the other dedicated to violence. Those two things are irreconcilable,” she said.

Rice was meeting with other members of the so-called Quartet that has tried to shepherd Israel and the Palestinians back to the peace table. The group, which includes the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations, is already on record as saying “there is a fundamental contradiction between armed group and militia activities and the building of a democratic state.”

A Hamas leader said his movement had written to the Quartet, asking for direct and unconditional talks and offering assurances that international aid would not go to Palestinian militants.

“We call on you to transfer all aid to the Palestinian treasury,” Ismail Haniyeh, a Hamas leader in Gaza, told a news conference. “We assure you that all the revenues will be spent on salaries, daily life and infrastructure.”

Hamas also has said it would try to turn to the Arab and Muslim world for money if the U.S. and Europe cut back.

Hamas won a surprise victory in last week’s legislative elections, setting the Islamic militant group up to run the next government in the Palestinian territories bordering Israel. But the wary international reaction to their victory raised questions about how the Palestinian Authority would finance its annual budget.

Abbas, the U.S.-backed head of the defeated Fatah Party, remains as president but the extent of his power is not yet clear.

“The Hamas party has made it clear that they do not support the right of Israel to exist, and I have made it clear so long as that’s their policy, that we will not support a Palestinian government made up of Hamas,” Bush said in Washington.

European foreign ministers also conditioned aid on Hamas actions, but seemed prepared to give a brief grace period.

“We have urged Hamas and all other factions to renounce violence” and “respect Israel’s right to exist,” said Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency. “On that basis the EU stands ready to continue to support Palestinian economic development and democratic state-building.”

Earlier, European Union External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner warned that a precipitous cut-off of aid could bring down the Palestinian Authority, which Abbas still heads.

“Everybody should make a concerted effort that the Palestinian Authority can function,” she told a news briefing. “Israel has to do its bit, the Arab countries … and we will also take our responsibilities.”

In addition to formal aid, the EU and the United States both have given far more to the Palestinians through indirect channels, including for humanitarian and development projects.

Rice said the United States will continue humanitarian aid on a case by case basis, and European nations seemed prepared to also continue indirect aid.

After meeting with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Abbas urged other nations to keep up financial aid.

“Our talks focused on the need to continue this aid so that our people can stand on their own feet,” he said.

Hamas promised it is willing to have its spending monitored.

Hamas has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings. The group refuses to disarm or to recognize Israel, though it has hinted it could reach a long-term truce or other accommodation with the Jewish state. Since a cease-fire declaration last February, Hamas has not claimed involvement in any suicide attacks.