Member of the Knesset Binyamin Ben-Eliezer stated on Sunday that Israel will eventually be forced to start talks with Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood.

Speaking to Israeli radio on Sunday, Ben-Eliezer said he was for starting dialogue with the Brotherhood, since Islamists are becoming the dominant political power in Egypt.

Ben-Eliezer, a close associate of ousted president Hosni Mubarak, added that Egypt's future, however, still remains unclear to him.

Although 70 per cent of Egypt's parliament is Islamist, he said, the recent disqualification of two major Islamist presidential contenders makes it hard to predict where the country will head. He did express his hope that elections be held as scheduled.