(Ha'aretz) Aluf Benn - In his first public reference to the "road map" peace plan draft worked out by the Quartet - the U.S., EU, UN, and Russia - and presented to him in Washington last week, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said, "It's not credible that Israel takes irreversible steps while the other side only makes statements. There is a danger Israel will face a timetable that only it is required to keep to." Government and defense officials are bitterly critical of the plan, which calls for comprehensive political and security reforms in the Palestinian Authority leading to a Palestinian state with temporary borders by the end of 2003, and a final status agreement by the end of 2005. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs William Burns arrives in Israel Wednesday for meetings about the road map plan with Israeli and Palestinian officials - though not with Yasser Arafat. The prime minister and his aides say they will not accept any deviation from President Bush's June 24 speech. "We have to stick to what was agreed in Washington regarding the Bush plan. It is of utmost importance that any progress to each stage be conditioned to the implementation of the previous stage. All progress has to be conditioned to determined action against terror and incitement. If that doesn't happen, it will be impossible to move toward a demilitarized state without final borders," Sharon said.
2002-10-23 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive