AL QUDS, Nov 28: A Palestinian journalist from Al Quds said on Sunday she would run for president to succeed Yasser Arafat, becoming the first woman to enter the race.

Majeda Husni el-Batsh who joins a handful of long-shot challengers to frontrunner Mahmoud Abbas, a moderate former prime minister who is the dominant Fatah group's choice for the Jan 9 poll.

Ms Batsh, who resigned her job at the French Agence France Presse to run for president, said she wanted to highlight problems facing Palestinians living in east Al Quds, which Palestinians want as the capital of a future state.

"Some people said to me directly: 'No, we cannot accept at any time a woman be president.' They don't accept the idea," Ms Batsh told a news conference. "It is a challenge."

Ms Batsh's announcement came as another Palestinian contender, former sports minister Talal Seder, told journalists in the West Bank city of Al Khalil he would drop out of the race.

ENDORSEMENT: Presidential frontrunner Mahmud Abbas won the endorsement of one of the main Palestinian armed factions on Sunday before pledging to stop anyone but the official security forces from carrying weapons.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon meanwhile looked set to end his 15-month-old boycott of the Palestinian leadership after expressing a willingness to hold talks with new PLO chief Abbas whenever he wanted.

In a significant boost to his campaign, Abbas won the endorsement on Sunday of the Brigades, a Fatah off-shoot. "We announce our commitment and complete support to our brother Abu Mazen (Abbas) who we believe will implement the will of the Palestinian people," the Brigades said in a statement in Gaza City. -Agencies