Sharon aide insists ‘Washington’ does not meddle in Israeli policy

AN adviser to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon urged Washington yesterday not to meddle in Israeli politics in the latest show of displeasure over planned US talks with authors of a symbolic Middle East peace pact.

The rare public row between Israel and its chief ally continued to smoulder as Palestinian factions opened negotiations in Cairo aimed at reaching an agreement on a truce considered crucial to reviving US-backed peace moves.

Secretary of State Colin Powell was due to meet in Washington today with Israeli and Palestinian architects of the Geneva Accord an unofficial plan Sharon has rejected as capitulation to a Palestinian uprising.