May 24, 2003	Saturday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 21,1424

WASHINGTON, May 23: The White House said on Friday that it appreciated Israel’s “real concerns” about the so-called Middle East roadmap and promised to “address them fully and seriously”.

Soon after the announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon pledged to submit the roadmap to his cabinet on Sunday for approval, according to an agency report.

The roadmap, proposed by the United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia, is designed to lay the groundwork for an end to violence in the Middle East and eventually for the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

As part of the proposal, President George W. Bush is to hold a tripartite summit also to be attended by Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

Earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said he would agree to pursue the peace plan if the White House acknowledged its security concerns.

And on Friday, the White House accepted the Israel’s demand by issuing a brief statement, signed jointly by Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.

The statement says:”The roadmap was presented to the government of Israel with a request from President Bush that it should respond with contributions to this document to advance true peace. The United States government received a response from the government of Israel, explaining its significant concerns about the roadmap. The United States shares the view of the government of Israel that these are real concerns, and will address them fully and seriously in the implementation of the roadmap to fulfil the president’s vision of June 24, 2002.”

After the statement, the prime minister’s office in Israel announced that Mr Sharon was ready to accept the “road map” for peace with the Palestinians and the plan would be presented to the cabinet for approval.

The cabinet is due to meet on Sunday.

Meanwhile, official sources in Washington said that if calm prevailed in the Palestinian territory, President Bush would meet both Mr Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas early next month.

Mr Abbas has said it will be difficult for him to press Hamas and other militant groups to stop violence against Israel if Mr Sharon does not accept the roadmap that calls for an independent Palestinian state by the end of 2005.

Agencies add: Sharon, who has listed 15 objections to the roadmap, leaned heavily on the US statement in explaining his decision to seek cabinet approval for the plan which envisions the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005.

The US statement recognises Israeli concerns “are the expression of real fears”, as well as Washington’s “promise ... to fully and seriously take into account its (Israel’s) remarks during the implementation of the roadmap,” his office said.

Immediately, the council which represents Jewish settlers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip demanded that the cabinet block the roadmap which lays out steps for ending the 32-month Palestinian intifada.

Their harsh response ignored Sharon’s flat rejection of a freeze on Jewish settlement building, one of the key tenets of the roadmap which also calls on the Palestinian Authority to crackdown on militant groups.

Underlining Sharon’s unwillingness to compromise on settlements, Israel’s housing ministry announced Friday it has invited bids for a new residential district in the largest settlement in the West Bank.

The plan for Maale Adumim settlement, near Jerusalem, is the largest expansion project for a single settlement announced this year.

A senior Israeli official told AFP earlier on condition of anonymity that without an American letter of guarantee it would be impossible for Sharon to bring his cabinet and the public on board regarding the roadmap.

The official said a US statement would also clear hurdles for a possible meeting between Bush, Sharon and his Palestinian counterpart Mahmud Abbas.

US administration officials said Thursday that Bush was weighing a possible summit in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh with Sharon and Abbas, who is also known as Abu Mazen.

The summit could take place after the June 1-3 Group of Eight meeting in France, the officials said, while Israeli diplomatic sources have also named Geneva as a possible venue.