JERUSALEM (AP) -- Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, whose popularity has slipped over his failure to end the conflict with the Palestinians, floated the idea of unilateral steps Sunday, with officials telling Israeli media this may include drawing a border and removing some settlements.
In the weekly Cabinet meeting, Sharon said he remains committed to the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan, which envisions a negotiated deal, with a Palestinian state as a centerpiece, by 2005. But Sharon added that he does not rule out unilateral steps, presumably if efforts to revive the road map fail.
The prime minister did not elaborate, and the comments seemed largely aimed at proving to an increasingly restless Israeli public that he has a plan for ending three years of bloodshed. Sharon's critics include four former security chiefs who recently accused him of stalling to avoid concessions and warned Israel is headed for disaster without a quick solution to the conflict with the Palestinians.
Trying to soften his hardline image, Sharon told Yediot Ahronot daily he would present his new plan soon. "I just wanted the Israeli public to know that its prime minister has not stopped thinking about how to get out of the impasse with the Palestinians," he told the newspaper.
Palestinian officials and Israeli liberals were skeptical. "We've heard many promises, but nothing has come of them," said Israeli opposition leader Shimon Peres, adding that the removal even of small settlements would break up Sharon's center-right coalition. "I don't think Sharon is in a hurry to take apart his government," Peres said.
Israel would draw its own border if peace efforts bog down, and the frontier would run along the West Bank barrier currently under construction. Sharon reportedly told the ministers he would consider rerouting upcoming segments, which would cut deep into the West Bank in some areas, and bring them closer to Israel.
Israel would also uproot smaller settlements and residents would be moved to the Negev Desert or to larger settlement blocs in the West Bank, according to the reported plan. Israel would withdraw from Palestinian towns and release some of the thousands of Palestinian prisoners it holds.
The reports sparked conflicting reactions from Cabinet ministers. Effi Eitam of the National Union dismissed the reported plans as "complete folly" -- while Yosef Paritski of the centrist Shinui party said his group would "demand concrete steps to jump-start and advance the diplomatic process."
The leaks were published at a time of renewed effort to revive the road map, stalled almost since its introduction in June. Both sides have failed to meet even the most basic requirements -- a settlement freeze and the removal of dozens of illegal West Bank outposts by Israel, and the dismantling of militant groups by the Palestinians.
Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia plan to meet, but no date has been set. In preparation for the summit, Palestinian officials are putting together a document that would list the obligations of both sides and would be approved by the two leaders. Most of the obligations are set out in the road map.
The Palestinians have long argued that they cannot dismantle armed groups for fear of setting off civil war. Palestinian officials say the United States ceded the point last week, drastically reducing demands in an action plan for the Palestinian security forces which was sent to Qureia last week.
