(Updated Wednesday 10:30AM) US Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs William Burns is scheduled to arrive in Israel today for a series of meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Burns was dispatched to the region to present US President Bush's "road map" towards a Palestinian State, following last week's Oval Office meeting between Bush and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Burns is scheduled to meet with Defense Minster Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres later on today before meeting with Prime Minister Sharon tomorrow. While Burns is scheduled to meet with top PA officials in Jericho, he has no plans to visit Yasser Arafat in what's left of his Ramallah Compound.
Last night Prime Minister Sharon expressed some reservation about the American "road map". He told a gathering of Anti-Defamation League officials that there can not arise a situation in which Israel takes irreversible steps while the other side only makes promises of peace. In addition, several government and security officials have sharply criticized the proposal, since its initial phase does not call for the Palestinians to take concrete steps to thwart terror.
Last night Prime Minister Sharon expressed some reservation about the American "road map". He told a gathering of Anti-Defamation League officials that there can not arise a situation in which Israel takes irreversible steps while the other side only makes promises of peace. In addition, several government and security officials have sharply criticized the proposal, since its initial phase does not call for the Palestinians to take concrete steps to thwart terror.