Israel's ruling party denied that it was split on whether to negotiate further West Bank pullouts with the Palestinians, saying it was committed to talks if it had an acceptable partner.
‘I don't think there is any disagreement between the Kadima leadership,’ senior party official Uriel Reichman told reporters.
‘As a matter of fact, we would all like to have an agreed solution to the misery that we are living,’ said Reichman, who is sixth on the party list for March 28 elections.
‘Meanwhile something happened and on the other side of the line, you have a group of people who are devoted to the destruction of the Jewish state,’ he said referring to the upset January Palestinian parliamentary election win of Islamic militant group Hamas.
‘We would like to see Hamas reform. But if it doesn't happen it would be wrong not to take action in order to divorce ourselves -- even unilaterally -- from continuing the occupation and disengaging from the areas most populated by Palestinians.’
Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has committed Kadima to setting Israel's final borders by 2010 through further withdrawals from the West Bank after last year's pullout from the Gaza Strip, but senior aides have publicly disagreed on how.
Earlier this month the former intelligence service chief Avi Dichter, expected to be handed a top cabinet post provided Kadima is re-elected, said the party would begin work on a new round of unilateral pullouts from parts of the West Bank immediately after the election.
But his comments were rebuffed by the number two on the party's slate, former centre-left premier Shimon Peres, who insisted on negotiations with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas and the international community.
Reichman said Kadima remained committed to the internationally drafted roadmap peace plan but said progress depended on Hamas changing its policies in government.
‘Israel will do whatever it can in order to implement the roadmap and is calling for Hamas and the new government to give up its deadly policies and move towards recognizing Israel as a Jewish state and the international agreements that the Palestinian Authority has entered into and dismantle the ‘terrorist’ organizations.’
Reichman declined to be drawn on which Israeli parties Kadima would like as coalition partners to press its programme.
The latest opinion polls suggest the party will win around a third of the 120 seats in parliament, making it likely it will have to do a deal with one of its two main rivals -- centre-left Labour or the right-wing Likud.
But he dismissed suggestions that the rancour left over by the departure of all of Kadima's government ministers from the Likud late last year made agreement with the right-wing party impossible.
‘Likes and dislikes don't determine coalitions -- political issues do,’ he insisted.
A former founding member of the centrist Shinui party, which has long advocated reform of Israel's ultra-pluralist electoral system, Reichman said he would like to see Kadima push through legislation to prevent governments being dependent on coalition deals with minor parties.
The party manifesto committed it to ‘enhancing stability of government and enabling better ability to govern,’ he said.