Tony Blair said today he saw possibilities in his first visit to the Middle East as an international envoy but warned it was too early to tell whether they could be translated into concrete results.
The Quartet of peace brokers - the United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia - has asked the former British prime minister to present an initial plan by September for building ruling institutions for a Palestinian state.
Mr Blair, in his first public remarks since starting his mission yesterday, said he intended at this stage "to listen, to learn and to reflect" in his talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
"I think that even from the conversations I've had there is a sense of possibility," Mr Blair said after meeting Israeli President Shimon Peres. "But whether that sense of possibility can be translated into something - that is something that needs to be worked at and thought about over time."
Mr Blair planned to hold talks later today with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose secular Fatah faction lost control of Gaza to Hamas Islamists in a brief civil war last month, and also see Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Diplomats said Mr Blair's limited mandate could expand later into a more direct peacemaking role between the parties.
Mr Blair is due to end the visit to Israel and the West Bank tomorrow and travel to Gulf states. He plans to return to the region in September, before a Quartet meeting and a Middle East conference towards the end of the year.