WASHINGTON, April 16: British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George Bush called on the Palestinians and their supporters on Friday to use Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's West Bank plan as an opportunity for creating a Palestinian state.

Mr Sharon's proposal to withdraw Jewish settlements from Gaza while retaining some settlements on the West Bank has drawn outrage from the Palestinians. The Arab world is opposed to it and many in Europe are sceptical.

In a major US policy shift, Mr Bush endorsed the plan on Wednesday. Mr Blair told a sun-drenched Rose Garden news conference with Mr Bush on Friday that "we welcome the Israeli proposal to disengage from Gaza and parts of the West Bank".

"This is a historic moment," Mr Bush said. "And I think people need to view it as such and seize the moment and help a Palestinian state become a reality, a Palestinian state that can live in peace with its neighbours."

The Palestinians, like London and Washington, had long viewed the settlements as an obstacle to peace, backed by a series of UN Security Council resolutions calling on Israel to abandon them. -Reuters