Sharon seeks US backing for settlement plan

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was heading to Washington today to seek US backing for a plan to give up the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank in exchange for keeping and expanding five large West Bank settlement blocs.

Mr Sharon disclosed the final element of the plan just hours before his departure. In a visit to the West Bank’s largest settlement, Maaleh Adumim, he listed for the first time the West Bank areas he plans to keep.