The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Jerusalem

Israeli political parties on Tuesday launched talks to set a date for snap elections to replace scandal-plagued Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, with the Middle East peace process at a standstill.

Both Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's centrist Kadima party and the right-wing Likud party of hawkish former premier Benjamin Netanyahu, the two frontrunners in the coming vote, favour holding elections as soon as possible.

Senior Kadima MP Tzachi Hanegbi told military radio that February 3 would be a "good date" while the head of Likud's parliamentary bloc Gideon Saar said elections should be held "as soon as possible to minimise the interim period".

President Shimon Peres formally initiated the process of holding new elections on Monday after Livni, who last month was elected to succeed Olmert at the head of Kadima, failed to assemble a coalition to replace him.