The new Labour party leader in Israel Mr Amram Mitzna wants to give "a new chance" for dialogue with Palestinians.
In a radio interview, Mr Mitzna also said he had been invited to meet Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for the first time since his accession as Labour leader on November 19th. Mr Sharon was re-elected to head the right-wing Likud on Thursday.
"It is necessary to give another chance to arrive at an accord [with the Palestinians], because this dialogue has chances of being fruitful," Mitzna said.
The moderate Labour leader again expressed support for a "separation through negotiation" between Israel and the Palestinians, including a "closure" between the West Bank and Israel.
Palestinian leader Mr Yasser Arafat has backed Mr Mitzna's bid to become prime minister in next January's general election, saying he is ready to relaunch the peace process.
However, Mr Mitzna has denounced Mr Arafat for leading Palestinian "terrorism", although he has said he was willing to hold negotiations with him in order to reach peace. But polls in the Israeli media show Mr Mitzna has a very slim chance of becoming prime minister in the elections, and predict a sweeping victory for the Likud party.
According to a poll published yesterday, Likud would win 42 of 120 Knesset seats, while Labour would gain only half that number.
Mr Mitzna (57) has said if elected he would evacuate Jewish settlements and troops in the Gaza Strip within a year and at a later stage would rein in settlements and troop deployments in the West Bank.
AFP