Israel has three main objections to the American "Road Map" plan, according to Cabinet Secretary Gideon Sa'ar. The number-one problem is that the plan calls for a Palestinian state by next year, but makes no demands on the PA to stop terrorism beforehand. Israel is also against the proposal to have the Quartet - the U.S., Russia, the European Union, and the United Nations - serve as international supervisor over the process. Finally, Sa'ar said, Israel also objects to the plan's reference to the Saudi-Beirut initiative, which Israel never endorsed.
An editorial in the Syrian newspaper Tishrin says that the Road Map is not a genuine effort for peace, but "rather a trick designed to calm down and appease the Arabs before a possible American onslaught on Iraq." Israel's HaModia newspaper similarly reported on Friday that Israel would not make a public "fuss" over the plan for this reason, "although there is reason to fear that the plan will serve as the basis for the pressures that the U.S. is expected to bring to bear on Israel as soon as Saddam Hussein is defeated."
An editorial in the Syrian newspaper Tishrin says that the Road Map is not a genuine effort for peace, but "rather a trick designed to calm down and appease the Arabs before a possible American onslaught on Iraq." Israel's HaModia newspaper similarly reported on Friday that Israel would not make a public "fuss" over the plan for this reason, "although there is reason to fear that the plan will serve as the basis for the pressures that the U.S. is expected to bring to bear on Israel as soon as Saddam Hussein is defeated."