Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's next prime minister, said Sunday he wanted to find "peace with security" with all Israel's Arab neighbors, heal divisions at home and build a free market economy.
"I said peace begins at home, but it has to continue abroad," he said in his first public speech since defeating Shimon Peres in elections for the premiership last week,"The government we will form in a few days, with God's help, will strengthen the peaceful relations that have already been established with the Jordanian kingdom and with Egypt and will continue the negotiations with the Palestinians," he said. "We will also work to further peace deals and coexistence with other Arab states. I call on them to join the circle of peace."
Before thousands of cheering supporters at a victory rally in Jerusalem, Netanyahu reached out to Jewish opponents and Israeli Arabs who voted overwhelmingly for Peres. He said his first priority was to heal the divisions created in Israeli society and to treat every Israeli, Arab or Jew, as full and equal citizens.
"I want to be the prime minister of everyone - Jew or non-Jew, secular or religious, those that live in development towns and those that live in cities ... Peace begins at home."
He said his future government was "planning, finally, a free market economy" liberated from bureaucracy.
Earlier, calm returned to Israel's financial markets after Netanyahu pledged to work for economic liberalization, lower inflation and measures to enhance the stock exchange. The benchmark Mishtanim index of the top 100 shares rose 3.85 points, or 1.91 percent.
Shares fell 5 percent last Thursday, the previous day of trading, amid fears of a negative impact on Middle East peace when it became clear Netanyahu would win the election.
Traders said the positive response reflected Netanyahu's commitments over the weekend to continuing the peace process and the fact that Israeli shares in New York suffered little effect from his victory.
In a statement released before the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange opened Sunday morning, Shai Bezak, Netanyahu's spokesman, said the new Israeli leader was committed to "an atmosphere of stability that will lead to increased local and foreign investments."
"He also views the stock market as a central instrument for growth and the raising of capital ... He intends to give preference to the privatization of government companies."
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)