Sharon accepts Middle East peace plan

Israel’s prime minister Ariel Sharon has said he will take a US-backed “road map” for Middle East peace to his Cabinet as early as tomorrow – and saying he is confident the plan will win approval.

Sharon reluctantly accepted the plan yesterday after Washington assured him publicly that the United States would take into account a list of Israeli objections. The Palestinians – who have already accepted the road map despite some reservations – received no such assurances.

Palestinian Cabinet minister Ziad Abu Amr said the Palestinians had not voiced their misgivings when accepting the plan because they were eager to move forward.

“If the US administration assures Israel that it will take into account its reservations, the same treatment should be extended to the Palestinian side,” he said.

But the peace plan could easily hit new snags before the two sides even take the first step toward implementation.

Islamic militants, who have already carried out six bombings this week, including one on Friday, might step up attacks and provoke harsh Israeli reprisals.

Two far-right factions in Sharon’s coalition government could bolt in protest, although their departure could then open the way for Sharon to rebuild his former partnership with the Labour Party – leaving him stronger than ever by increasing his majority in parliament.

The Bush administration sent seemingly conflicting messages yesterday, in order to break the diplomatic deadlock. Alongside the promise to Israel came a pledge to the Palestinians that there would be no changes in the road map.

While Sharon has set aside his objections for now, he has not withdrawn them. Disputes with the Palestinians could resurface in the first stage of the plan, when the Palestinians are to rein in militants and Israel is to withdraw from Palestinian towns and freeze Jewish settlement construction.

Israel has said in the past that it would only make a move after the Palestinians crack down on militias that have killed hundreds of Israelis since the September 2000 outbreak of renewed hostilities the road map calls for simultaneous steps.

Bush, meanwhile, is considering a three-way meeting with Sharon and Palestinian prime minister Mahmoud Abbas in Egypt, to prod them into implementing the road map. However, the meeting would only occur if both sides took steps toward peace in the coming days, a senior Bush administration official said.

The frailty of the situation was illustrated by a Hamas bombing yesterday, in the Gaza Strip, in which two bus passengers were badly injured as they travelled from the Jewish settlement of Netzarim to Israel.

Earlier this week, Hamas and other Palestinian militias carried out five suicide bombings that killed 12 Israelis and wounded dozens more.