"We are not against the (1979 peace) agreement but we say that Egypt is committed to the agreements signed by the previous governments," Al-Nur spokesman Yusri Hammad said in a telephone interview with Israel's army radio, in which he spoke in Arabic.

"If there are some clauses that the people of Egypt want to change in the agreements, then these belong on the negotiating table," he said. "We respect all treaties."

Al-Nur is the main Salafist party. The faction was initially part of the Democratic Alliance coalition led by the Muslim Brotherhood, but they broke away to form the Islamic Alliance.

Hammad said the Salafists image had been "distorted" by the media and by other elements who were against Islamist elements ruling Egypt.

The interview prompted surprise in Israel that a member of the Egyptian Salafist movement would grant an interview to an Israeli media outlet, particularly one associated with the military.

"We were surprised by this interview," a senior government source said. "It gives us, without any doubt, something to think about regarding what is happening in Egypt."

Hammad's remarks were made as Egyptians turned out to vote in the run-off of a second round of legislative election. Since voting began just over three weeks ago, Egypt's main Islamist parties — Al-Nur and the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party — have emerged as the front-runners, trumping their liberal rivals.

A third and final round is to be held in early January. The new Parliament is not scheduled to be seated until March, after three rounds of voting for the legislature's largely toothless upper chamber is also completed.

The vote comes amid growing calls for the ruling military to step down and allow the next Parliament to form a national unity government that takes over the reins of power until a new president is elected before the end of June. Another scenario being floated is for presidential elections to be brought forward to January and a handover of power to take place the following month.

The proposals, which the military has yet to comment on, are floated as the generals who took over from longtime President Hosni Mubarak are coming under growing criticism for mismanaging the transition period, gross human rights abuses and failure to revive the economy or restore security.

The brutality shown by troops to protesters calling for the country's military rulers to immediately step down has caused an uproar in Egypt. On Tuesday, some 10,000 women marched in central Cairo, demanding the military step down and expressing their anger over the abuse of women protesters by troops during the crackdown.