Sharon is to "endorse the plan, but somewhat ambiguously”

WASHINGTON, May 23 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The U.S. administration has reportedly reached a tentative agreement with Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon to “publicly declare endorsing the roadmap” after Washington accepted Israel’s demands for the amendments, according to press reports Friday, May 23.

U.S. officials said the agreement on the wording Sharon can use to give a "qualified endorsement" of the U.S. "roadmap" to peace, was drawn up Tuesday in a meeting between White House officials and Sharon's chief of staff, Dov Weisglass, according to the New York Times.

The endorsement formula - described by the daily as "some artful language that would allow Sharon to endorse the plan, but somewhat ambiguously" - would make it possible for Sharon "to tell his fractious cabinet that he had not really endorsed (the roadmap) in its entirety".

"The idea is that Israel accepts the principles, the framework and the process of the roadmap and the two-state solution," said a diplomat, referring to Israel and a future Palestine. "But Israel would not accept every detail. It doesn't mean Israel won't have comments on certain issues."

The language of the endorsement would guarantee in a general way that Israel's concerns would be addressed, a U.S. official said - Israel wants a ban on the return of Palestinian refugees to Israel, and the postponement of the thorny issue of dismantling Jewish settlements to the distant future.

The Washington Post said Friday the U.S. administration had relented on its insistence on “no changes in the peace plan” to get Sharon's acceptance and break the deadlock in the Middle East peace process.

Also quoting U.S. officials, the Post said the White House planned to issue a statement Friday saying it recognizes Israel's concerns and would seek to address them.

Administration officials portrayed the deal as necessary to end a logjam that threatened to kill the plan in its infancy. Assuming Israel finds the administration's statement acceptable, Sharon expects to bring the road map to the Israeli cabinet on Sunday for a possible vote on whether to endorse its goals.

"The question is how to keep the concept of the road map while changing the substance," one administration official said. The draft of the road map that was released in the past month "might be pretty dead," the official said. "But the concept of the road map is not dead."

“We do not plan to rewrite or renegotiate the roadmap,” Powell

"There was an understanding reached that would allow Israel to accept the road map and allows us to move forward," an official familiar with Weisglass' meetings in Washington told the daily.

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, while traveling in the region last week, played down Israel's refusal to accept the plan, but U.S. officials have since concluded that Israel's stance is a serious impediment.

The road map, drafted by the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations, is a three-stage plan that envisions the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005 after a series of reciprocal steps. Sharon has objected to pulling back forces or dismantling illegal Jewish settlements until the Palestinians disarm groups responsible for suicide bombings.

Given Sharon's hesitation to accept the plan, Arab officials said they want to see how Sharon casts his acceptance before believing the process can move forward.

"In the Middle East, the devil is in the details," a senior Arab diplomat told the Post. "Expressions of support are appreciated and to be commended, but I hope the comments and caveats don't diminish the enthusiasm."

The paper added that U.S. officials “have sympathy for Sharon's position, particularly the domestic political cost of accepting a plan that envisions a freeze on settlement activity in the West Bank and the dismantlement of some settlement outposts”.

Sharon's cabinet is stocked with officials who oppose a Palestinian state; U.S. officials appear increasingly less wedded to the details of the plan and have told Israel officials their concerns will be addressed as the process moves forward.

Previously, administration officials said the draft was not subject to negotiation.