The Bush administration on Thursday extended a waiver of restrictions on the Palestinian Liberation Organization's Washington office, saying it remained a useful channel for ties with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Abbas, whose Fatah movement lost January elections to Hamas, is also chairman of the PLO.

Without the six-month waiver, the PLO office in Washington would be banned from operating and U.S. banks would be required to bar access to PLO funds, said Frederick Jones, a spokesman for the White House national security council.

The United States, which says Hamas must recognize Israel's right to exist, considers the movement a terrorist organization and has suspended direct aid to the new government.

" Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas remains committed to the principles of nonviolence, recognition of Israel, and respect for previous agreements and obligations," Jones said.

"Representation of the PLO in Washington remains a useful channel of communication to President Abbas," he said.

The restrictions were imposed by an anti-terrorism law in 1987, but six-monthly waivers have been routine since 1994, after the PLO and Israel recognized each other.