MIDDLE EAST: The prospects of progress in the Middle East peace process received a significant boost yesterday when the Prime Minister of Israel, Mr Ariel Sharon, said his government was ready to accept the terms of an international "road map" for peace with the Palestinians.
The plan is expected to be presented to the cabinet for approval tomorrow.
"The prime minister says that the state of Israel is ready to accept the steps which are outlined in the road map and it will be presented to the government for approval," the prime minister's office said in a statement.
It issued the statement after US Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, and National Security Adviser, Ms Condoleezza Rice, issued a statement saying Washington would address Israeli reservations that have held up the road map leading to a Palestinian state.
Mr Sharon is expected to face a tough fight in his cabinet from far-right members of his governing coalition.
But political sources said the prime minister, who won a resounding re-election in January, would likely muster a majority.
The Palestinians have embraced the peace plan, which was drawn up by the the United Nations, the European Union and Russia, but Israel delayed its acceptance, citing security reasons.
Under the plan, Israel is expected to scale back settlements in the occupied territories and reduce its military presence there, the Palestinians are expected to clamp down on suicide bombers, and both sides ultimately agree to a Palestinian state living in peace alongside Israel.
Earlier yesterday in Paris, Mr Powell said he expected a quick Israeli response to the US promise to address Israel's concerns but warned this did not mean it would change the "road map" itself.
"We have told the Israeli government that we would take their comments into consideration and address them fully and seriously as we went forward in the implementation of the road map but this does not require us to change the road map," he told a news conference.
Earlier the White House issued a statement from Mr Powell and Ms Rice, which said that the United States took Israel's concerns seriously and would address them as it implemented the road map.
"We are expecting a response from the state of Israel to our statement within the very near future," Mr Powell said.
President Bush was meanwhile said to be considering a possible summit meeting in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh with Mr Sharon and the Palestinian Prime Minister, Mr Muhammad Abbas, although no date has been confirmed.
During the war against Saddam Hussein, Mr Bush promised that when it was over, he would devote the sort of commitment to achieving peace between Israel and the Palestinians as the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, had devoted to the peace process in Northern Ireland.