The Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, will visit the Netherlands, holder of the rotating EU
presidency, in October, a Dutch spokesman announced today.
European Union foreign ministers agreed last week that they wanted to step into the vacuum in Middle East peace efforts created by the US presidential election with a new drive to stop the cycle of violence.
Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot said then that the most urgent issue to be discussed was Sharon's controversial plan to evacuate troops and some 8,000 Jewish settlers next year from enclaves in Gaza surrounded by 1.3 million Palestinians.
The EU is a joint sponsor of the 'road map' peace plan. The spokesman said the visit had been tentatively set for October 18.