Peace talks may resume in post-Arafat era: Mofaz

"In the light of the developments that are unfolding before our eyes, I cannot rule out the possibility of seeing a new and pragmatic leadership emerging in the Palestinian camp in the next few months," Mofaz told public radio.

This new leadership should be "legitimate in the eyes of the Palestinian people, get results from its policies against terrorism and carry out reforms, as the roadmap requires it to do," the minister said.

Israel "could open a dialogue with such a leadership," he concluded.

"It may be possible that disengagement creates the conditions for a resumption of negotiations, and co-existence in the future," Mofaz said, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan.

While the plan has proved contentious in Israel for its proposal to pull out of the Gaza Strip, Sharon also sees it as a way of strengthening control over parts of the West Bank where the vast majority of 250,000 Jewish settlers live.

The United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations -- the so-called Middle East diplomatic quartet -- are the sponsors of the troubled roadmap that foresees the creation of a Palestinian state in 2005.

Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom expressed hope yesterday that a more moderate Palestinian leadership would emerge if Yasser Arafat dies, and said his government would be waiting to work with it.

At a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Li Zhaoxing, Shalom reaffirmed Israel's commitment to the "road map" towards a Middle East peace settlement. But he blasted the Palestinian authorities for what he called their failure to curb terrorism.

"I reaffirmed to my colleague Israel's commitment to the road map and to find a peaceful solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict," Shalom told reporters.