New centrist leader could revive Israel's Labor Party

Political newcomer Avi Gabbay could give Israel's Labor Party a huge boost if it elected the centrist politician its leader, a poll has suggested.

Gabbay's Zionist Union bloc could give Labor 20 seats in the Israeli parliament, second only to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's Likud, which was projected to win 25 of the Knesset's 120 seats - if elections were held now.

Labor governed Israel for the state's first three decades, leaving its mark on all aspects of Israeli society. But it hasn't governed since then-Prime Minister Ehud Barak was defeated in 2001 following a failed attempt to reach peace with the Palestinians.

The party, with its relatively centrist approach, has been struggling to appeal to an Israeli public increasingly leaning towards right-wing policies.

This has been fuelled by a rise in fundamentalist attitudes towards illegal Israeli settlements under the Netanyahu administration and increased tensions with Palestinians.

The Midgam survey was commissioned by Israel's Channel 2 TV station and polled 500 Israelis.

It had a margin of error of 3.6 percentage points.