Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon seeks to win backing from envoys sent by US President George W. Bush for proposals to dismantle most Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip. Political sources close to Sharon said he wanted to secure his ninth White House meeting with Bush since taking office in 2001 and also allay US concerns over Israel?s construction of a barrier on West Bank land Palestinians want for a state.

Palestinians fear that under unilateral disengagement moves Sharon has vowed if a US-backed peace ?road map? fails, Israel expects to trade in Gaza for permanent control over areas of the West Bank containing major settlement blocs. But Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Israel realised such a scenario would be a non-starter for Washington. ?They (the Americans) certainly do not want to see a move of settlers from Gaza to Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), or a situation of annexing lands in Judea and Samaria in exchange for evacuating Gaza,? he told reporters.

The three envoys ? Elliot Abrams and Stephen Hadley, both national security advisers to Bush, and State Department official William Burns ? would urge Sharon to stick to the road map?s guidelines. ?The envoys will try to keep Israel as much as possible on the path of reciprocal steps outlined by the road map which remains US policy,? a diplomatic source said.

The violence-stalled peace plan calls for an end to more than three years of bloodshed and for mutual confidence-building moves leading to the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005. ?When the Prime Minister goes to the United States to meet with (Bush), the aim is for him to already have a detailed plan (on the dismantling of the Gaza settlements),? said a senior government official.

Deputy Defence Minister Zeev Boim told Israel Radio: ?The idea is to reach understandings with the Americans, and perhaps with the rest of the international community, if it transpires there is no Palestinian (peace) partner.?

The envoys, on the second day of their mission, will meet Sharon and Israeli National Security Council head Giora Eiland, who is drawing up the plan to uproot as many as 17 of the 21 Jewish settlements in Gaza.

Some 7,500 Israelis and 1.3 million Palestinians live in the area. Opinion polls show most Israelis support scrapping the heavily defended Gaza settlements, but pro-settler parties could bolt Sharon?s governing coalition if the enclaves are removed.

Commenting on the West Bank barrier, political sources said Sharon had decided to alter parts of the route at Washington?s behest to remove elongated loops around some Jewish settlements in the West Bank and avoid caging in entire Palestinian towns.

Israel says the barrier, a towering cement wall in some parts and a razor wire-tipped electronic fence in others, has already stopped Palestinian suicide bombers. But Palestinians call it a land grab. The International Court of Justice opens hearings on the legality of the barrier on February 23 in The Hague.

Megan Goldin