Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Thursday reaffirmed his commitment to the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan, stressing he wanted to dispel speculation that his country has a secret agenda for the West Bank.
"Yesterday, a rumor spread as though we were considering other plans," Sharon told an economic conference held in Tel Aviv. "We are not, we already have one: The road map. We have no better plan for the future of Israel, and I emphasize this because of the recent rumors on this subject."
According to Haaretz, Sharon said he was determined to dispel press reports that caused ambassadors to "line-up outside the prime minister's office asking if we have some other agenda."
The Israeli leader conveyed that the rumors led to a harsh reaction from the United States "that was surprised to hear that Israel was allegedly planning to modify the [road map] plan, which we agreed upon and on which the diplomatic solution is based. We are forced to make many actions to calm the issue."
The rumors started on Wednesday when two Sharon aides raised the possibility that, in the event of diplomatic deadlock, Israel could unilaterally withdraw from parts of the West Bank and annex other areas.
