Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon meets Tuesday afternoon with President Bush at the White House, where he is expected to present a plan for Middle East peace that excludes Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat from future negotiations.

Israeli officials say Mr. Sharon will use a 100-page document alleging links between Mr. Arafat and terrorism as the basis for arguing the Palestinian leader should have no future role in peace efforts. 

Hours before the scheduled meeting, a White House spokesman repeated a Bush statement that Mr. Arafat is seen by the Palestinian people as their elected leader and that Israel must deal with him. But he said the president also understands Israel's frustration with Mr. Arafat. 

A senior Bush administration official is quoted by the Associated Press as saying President Bush also plans to press the Israeli leader to ease economic restrictions on Palestinians. 

The official said Mr. Bush will propose that Israel release impounded proceeds from a sales tax that was supposed to be turned over to the Palestinian Authority under the 1993 Oslo accords. 

The Bush-Sharon meeting comes as other Middle East leaders held talks in Washington on ways to end 19 months of Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed that has claimed more than two thousand lives. 

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal conferred Monday with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. Jordan's King Abdullah also met with Mr. Powell and is set to meet President Bush on Wednesday. > 

Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.

Email this article to a friend.
Printer Friendly Version