By Phil Stewart and Roberto Landucci

ROME, March 19 (Reuters) - Italy's foreign minister said on Monday ahead of talks with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that it would be a "serious mistake to shut the door in the face" of the new Palestinian unity government.

Washington's response to the formation of the new government this weekend has been to agree with Israel to keep a ban on financial aid but, unlike the Jewish state, to leave room for contacts with ministers who are not Hamas members.

Italy's Massimo D'Alema told Reuters shortly before heading to Washington that it was encouraging that the unity government formed on Saturday by the Islamist Hamas and the secular Fatah had been so sharply condemned by the militant network al Qaeda.

"One very important aspect that has been overlooked is that the birth of a new Palestinian government has been very strongly attacked by al Qaeda and in particular (its deputy leader Ayman) al-Zawahri himself, who has condemned Hamas as traitors," D'Alema said in an interview.

"If they have aroused the rabid anger of al Qaeda, they must be doing something right, since al Qaeda are our enemies, aren't they?" he said.

Israel intends to shun the new Palestinian government while keeping links with the moderate President Mahmoud Abbas. D'Alema said he hoped Israel could be "more flexible", adding that he wanted to hear the U.S. position from Rice herself in Washington.

D'Alema said the Palestinian government was "not exactly" what Europe wanted, but it was positive that Hamas is a minority in a partnership including independents and moderates.

"It's a step forward. The alternative would have been civil war, which would have been a tragedy," said D'Alema. "It would be a serious mistake to shut the door in their faces, saying nothing has changed."

Italy, a fierce critic of Israel's war against Hezbollah in Lebanon last year, rallied Europe behind a new U.N. peace force for southern Lebanon which it now commands.

AFGHAN CAMPAIGN "NOT BRILLIANT"

D'Alema will ask the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday to put more emphasis on reconstruction in Afghanistan, protected by a NATO-led military mission in which Italy has 1,900 troops.

He will push for regional talks for stability to complement a military campaign that he described as "not brilliant".

"The results are not positive. So we want to discuss how to improve our actions," the minister said.

Some of Italy's NATO allies have questioned its commitment to Afghanistan, where Italy refuses to send more troops. But the Italian centre-left government, and D'Alema in particular, staked their political survival on the mission last month.

Prime Minister Romano Prodi quit over a defeat in a Senate vote on foreign policy including Afghanistan. He then managed to reassert his leadership in a closely-fought confidence vote.

"I think the Americans have seen that the Italian government intends to respect its commitments," said D'Alema.

Now parliament has to approve funding of the mission by the end of March. Some of Prodi's leftist coalition allies will vote against it once more in the Senate, but D'Alema said he would be happy to win with votes of lifetime senators and the opposition.

(Additional reporting by Stephen Brown)

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