Two senior Egyptian officials have called on Hamas to recognise Israel, to disarm and to honour past peace agreements.
President Hosni Mubarak's spokesman also called on Hamas to recognise peace agreements with Israel.
Former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat "was able to change his position. There is nothing that prevents smart leaders from changing their positions to behave accordingly," he said.
Hamas is under growing international pressure to renounce its violent ideology and recognise Israel's right to exist as a condition for receiving millions of dollars in foreign aid - the lifeline of the Palestinian economy. Western powers have said they will not fund a Hamas-led Palestinian government otherwise.
A Hamas spokesman said the group was still trying to determine whether Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas had posed such conditions. "President Abbas said on different occasions that he respects the result of these elections, and all the developments that followed the elections," he said.
In Damascus, a senior Hamas official said the group would not change its policies toward Israel. "These conditions could not be accepted and the US president should accept reality and facts. . . . He should deal with Hamas as it is," said the deputy head of Hamas's political bureau.
The Hamas statement from Damascus came before the Egyptian officials' comments were made public.
AP