JERUSALEM, Israel – Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Arab leader campaigning to succeed Yasser Arafat in elections next month, said in an interview published yesterday that the 4-year-old armed uprising against Israel was a mistake and must end.

His strong statement, which could cost him some electoral support, sent a challenge to terrorists who have been waging war with suicide attacks and ambushes; it also set the stage for a resumption of peace efforts if he wins.

In an interview with the London based Arabic newspaper Asharq al-Awsat,Mr. Abbas said Palestinian Arabs should resist Israeli occupation, but only through nonviolent means.

“The uprising is a legitimate right of the people to express their rejection of the occupation by popular and social means,” Mr. Abbas said. “Using the weapons was harmful and has got to stop.” At a news conference in Saudi Arabia yesterday, Mr. Abbas said armed attacks could damage peace moves.

“We, at this stage, are against the militarization of the intifadah because we want to negotiate. And because we want to negotiate, the atmosphere should be calm in preparation for political action,” Mr. Abbas said. “That’s why we have frankly called for…an end to the militarization of the intifadah.”

While Arafat was alive, Mr. Abbas mainly saved his criticism of the armed uprising for private conversations. When he publicly expressed his belief during the launch of the American backed “road map” peace plan in 2003, he drew sharp condemnation at home.

Uprising leader Marwan Barghouti’s withdrawal from the January 9 presidential elections has left Mr. Abbas the clear front-runner, giving him more leeway to risk alienating some potential voters in exchange for laying the groundwork for rapid post election peace moves.

And many Palestinian Arabs – while supporting terrorist attacks that have killed more than 1,000 Israelis, many of them civilians – have tired of a conflict that has crushed their economy and killed more than 3,000 of their people.

Mr. Abbas, a pragmatist who has the quiet support of Israel and the international community, has been working to persuade terrorist groups to halt attacks.

In Washington, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the Bush administration welcomes Mr. Abbas’s call for an end to violence.

“We remain focused on working toward a strategy that will put in place the institutions necessary for a viable state to emerge. But fighting terrorism and putting in a unified security force are key to those efforts,” Mr. McClellan said.

Israel has said violence must end before peace talks can resume and has held out the prospect of coordinating its planned withdrawal from Gaza and four West Bank settlements with the new Palestinian Arab leadership if it quells violence.

Prime Minister Sharon refused to negotiate with Arafat, who died November 11, accusing him of fomenting violence. Israel also said that if the Palestinian Arabs reorganize their security services, it would be willing to give them control over large areas of Gaza and parts of the West Bank, even before the pullout next year.

Mr. Abbas told Asharq al-Awsat that Palestinian Arab security is badly disorganized. “Frankly, the Palestinian apparatus needs discipline. There is security chaos, that’s why we’re demanding and are seeking to unify the security apparatus,” he said.