Sharon faces domestic battle over pullout plan

On Thursday evening, Israeli forces foiled a bombing attempt near a West Bank Jewish settlement that is on Sharon's list of places to maintain in any peace agreement with the Palestinians.

The incident outside the settlement of Ariel illustrated the tensions in the West Bank after Sharon named Ariel and four other locations that would remain in Israeli hands. Bush backed the concept that Israel would retain some West Bank territory, angering Palestinians.

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Sharon was planning an immediate start to his campaign to persuade skeptical members of his own Likud Party to support his plan a pullout from all of the Gaza Strip and a small part of the West Bank aided by Bush's endorsement of the Israeli side in two key disagreements with the Palestinians.

Besides noting that final borders must take into account the main Israeli settlements, Bush also said that a solution to the Palestinian refugee problem must be found in the context of a Palestinian state, not Israel.

Palestinians demand a state in all of the West Bank and Gaza and removal of all Jewish settlements. They also claim the "right of return" of hundreds of thousands who fled or were evicted from their homes during the two-year war that followed Israel's creation in 1948, along with their descendants about 4 million people altogether.

Bush gave Sharon an important lift at home, where he faces hard-line opposition to his plan. Sharon has scheduled a May 2 referendum on the withdrawal among members of his Likud Party and the chances of approval are uncertain.

AFP adds: The world's Islamic nations will hold an emergency meeting on developments in the Middle East and Iraq on April 22, Malaysia said Friday.

Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said the meeting would focus on the Palestinian issue after a major policy shift announced by US President George W. Bush Wednesday, but it would also address the deteriorating situation in Iraq.