Israel's Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, is planning a package of conciliatory steps towards Palestinians to quiet Israeli dissent over his hardline policies and bolster his new Palestinian counterpart, political sources said this morning.
Facing growing pressure at home and abroad to help revive the stalled "road map", Mr Sharon intends to unveil his initiative around the time of a summit expected in coming days with Palestinian Prime Minister Mr Ahmed Qurie, the sources said.
The moves follow criticism this week by US President George W. Bush of a barrier Israel is building in the West Bank and signs that Washington will respond by trimming its $9 billion in loan guarantees to the Jewish state.
It also comes at a time when Israel's top general has criticised Mr Sharon's handling of the conflict, and Israeli opposition politicians and leading Palestinians have aroused public interest in alternative peace proposals.
"Sharon doesn't like the diplomatic vacuum that has developed, so he wants to change the situation," one political source said.
Mr Sharon hinted at his plan yesterday when he told a business conference in Tel Aviv: "We do not rule out unilateral steps [toward the Palestinians]."
A Sharon confidant said measures might include "humanitarian" easing of Israel's military blockade of the Palestinian areas, a pullback from one or more West Bank cities and renewed dismantling of Jewish settler outposts on occupied land.