The man widely expected to win the Palestinian presidential elections, Mahmoud Abbas, has said he might be able to convince groups like Hamas to agree to a ceasefire in the conflict with Israel.
Mr Abbas said he would use persuasion and negotiation, rather than force to broker peace.
He was speaking at a rally in Gaza where he repeated his call for an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem.
Mr Abbas is the preferred candidate of Israel and the US in the 9 January poll that will decide the successor to Yasser Arafat who died last November.
Mr Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, has been campaigning hard in Gaza - a stronghold of organisations like Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
The two groups are committed to armed confrontation with Israel.
