Peace deal with Israel possible within a yr

But Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, whose governing Kadima party is projected to emerge triumphant from Tuesday's pivotal election, insisted he could not base his policies on overtures from the moderate Palestinian Authority (PA) president with a Hamas-led cabinet set to take power.

"I am convinced that within less than a year, we will be able to sign an agreement," Abbas was quoted as saying in an interview with the liberal Haaretz newspaper.

As head of the Palestine Liberation Organisation he said he would conduct the talks with the Israelis, bypassing the Hamas government set to be rubber-stamped by parliament on Monday after its upset January election win.

Abbas said he had already discussed with Washington and former Israeli premier Shimon Peres, number two on centrist Kadima's slate, the idea of opening secret talks that would effectively bypass Hamas.

He and Peres met in Jordan earlier this month, when the Palestinian leader emphasised his desire for a resumption of stalled peace negotiations.

His offer was snubbed by Israel and is likely to receive little interest from the sponsors of the stalled Middle East roadmap peace plan following the rise to power of a group blacklisted as a terrorist organisation by the West.

"I know him and we were very friendly, but I cannot base my attitude toward the PA on the sympathy I may have for a certain individual," Olmert said in an interview with the web edition of Israel's biggest-selling daily Yediot Aharonot.