By DPA
Tel Aviv : Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert wants to revive long-stalled peace negotiations with the Palestinians "urgently", a senior minister in his government, appointed recently and charged with Israel's political strategy toward the Palestinians, said Friday.
"In the last period and especially since Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip, there are two people who are committed to peace and who are committed to fight against terror," Vice Prime Minister Haim Ramon said, referring to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his Acting Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.
"We have a partner and the minute there is a partner we have to conduct negotiations with him," he told Israel Radio.
"I don't know how long there will be a partner and therefore it needs to be done, it needs to be done urgently," he added.
Although Hamas leader Ismail Haniya, in de facto control of the Strip, continues to call himself the prime minister, Abbas dismissed him following the Gaza takeover.
In his stead, he appointed Fayyad, a moderate independent, who now heads a caretaker government that has not been ratified by the democratically elected parliament dominated by Hamas.
Ensuring the continued existence of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state alongside a Palestinian state had been the main election commitment of Olmert's and his Kadima party.
Olmert and Kadima had initially opted for a unilateral withdrawal from much of the West Bank only because, with Hamas heading the Palestinian government, at the time Israel had no negotiating partner, Ramon said, pointing out this had now changed.
Underlining the urgency of negotiations on the principles of a final peace deal, he said: "The occupation threatens our very existence, our legitimacy and our standing in the international community."
He said that under such an agreement Israel would withdraw from most of the West Bank and annex its main settlement blocs in return for territorial exchanges.
Olmert appointed Ramon, a close associate, vice premier and minister in charge of political strategy, as part of a mini-reshuffle of his cabinet early this month.
Ramon only recently completed a 120-hour community service sentence for forcibly kissing a female officer on the mouth when he served as justice minister last year.