US Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry has told an Israeli newspaper the Jewish state had no one to negotiate with on the Palestinian side and that he would not try to impose a peace agreement if elected.
Mr Kerry, in an interview published today in the Haaretzdaily, largely echoed the Bush administration's position that Palestinian President Yasser Arafat is an obstacle to reviving the peace process and should be sidelined.
In response, Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erekat told Reuters: "Mr. Kerry knows there is a Palestinian partner. . . . There is an elected president and there is an elected leadership. The point is that peace requires two parties."
The Bush administration and Israel have tried to freeze Mr Arafat out of Middle East diplomacy, saying he has fomented violence during nearly four years of conflict. The veteran leader denies the accusation.
Mr Kerry also signalled that if elected in the November presidential ballot his Middle East agenda would differ in some ways from President George W. Bush's policies.
"We can help change the climate more effectively than George Bush," he said. "I can be more effective with the accountability of the Saudis and other Arab countries . . . I'll do a better job of reducing the threat to Israel and the rest of the world."
Mr Kerry's brother visited Israel last week on a trip sponsored by a group affiliated with the powerful US pro-Israel lobby to ease any concerns about the US senator. US presidential candidates often try to court the Jewish state.
A Jewish convert and adviser to his brother, Mr Cameron Kerry, sought to reassure Israelis that the Democratic candidate was as strong a supporter as Bush.
While campaigning for his party's nomination, Mr Kerry angered Israel supporters last October when he told an Arab-American group that an array of fences and walls Israel was building through occupied West Bank land was a "barrier to peace".