'Sharon to get US nod to keep West Bank land'

The Haaretz daily said the pledge would be contained in a letter that President Bush will hand Sharon at their White House meeting on Wednesday.

Political analysts say the more benefits the United States offers Sharon in the meetings in Washington, the easier it will be for him to obtain backing at home for his declared plan to withdraw from Gaza and four of some 120 West Bank settlements.

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The Palestinians want all of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war, for the state they hope to establish under a US-backed peace "road map."

But, the newspaper said, Bush's letter will declare that Israel will not be asked in the future to withdraw to the pre-1967 boundary known as the "green line."

Determination of borders in any final-status accord with the Palestinians will take into consideration "demographic realities" on the ground, Haaretz quoted from the letter in an indirect reference to Jewish settlements on occupied land.

There was no immediate official Israeli comment on the report, which was carried by the newspaper's Web Site before the morning newspaper hit the stands.

The report was likely to stoke Palestinian fears the Gaza pullout plan is an Israeli ruse to annex West Bank settlement blocs. Haaretz said Israeli officials believe the letter constituted US acquiescence to such a future move.