TEL AVIV: After falling out with Benjamin Netanyahu as a junior member of the Cabinet last year, Avi Gabbay is now a leading candidate to replace the scandal-plagued prime minister.
Buoyed by a rags-to-riches personal story and a centrist worldview that appeals to Israel's traditional swing voters, Gabbay has led the opposition Labor Party to a big bump in the polls.
But the 50-year-old former telecom executive has his sights set on more than just victory at the ballot box: He wants to seek a peace agreement with the Palestinians — something Netanyahu rarely even mentions anymore.
In an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday, Gabbay said: "I don't know if we can reach a deal, but we have to exert energy into it again and not neglect it anymore."