Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon plans eventually to scrap a US-approved road map to peace with the Palestinians and instead seek Washingtonâs blessing for annexing occupied West Bank land, a newspaper said yesterday. The report by senior staff of Maariv newspaper gave no source, but Sharonâs initial plans for last yearâs withdrawal from the Gaza Strip were first floated in a similar way.Sharonâs spokesman declined comment, while a senior Israeli political source dismissed the report as âpure speculation.â A senior Palestinian official said he doubted whether the United States or the European Union would endorse the plan described by Maariv.
The paper said Sharon, who is up for re-election in March, would argue that Israel was justified in abandoning the peace plan and setting borders unilaterally because of the failure of the Palestinians to crack down on armed groups. In public, Sharon remains very much committed to the road map for a Palestinian state on land captured in the 1967 Middle East war alongside a secure Israel. But Palestinians have long said they suspect Sharon intends to dictate terms. The Palestinians have failed to fulfill their obligation under the plan to start disarming factions spearheading a 5-year-old revolt. Israel has not met its own promise to stop expanding Jewish settlements in the West Bank. The Maariv report said Sharon would go public with his new plan after Palestinian parliamentary elections this month, when Israeli intelligence has predicted a new outbreak of violence.