Bush to pressure Israel over West Bank settlement plan

US President George W. Bush yesterday demanded Israel stop expanding Jewish settlements, as a plan to extend the largest West Bank settlement threatened to cloud his upcoming meeting with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

"Our position is very clear, that the road map is important. And the road map calls for no expansion of the settlements," Bush told reporters in Washington ahead of a meeting next Monday with Mr Sharon at his ranch in Crawford, Texas.

He said he would press Mr Sharon to abide by a US-backed peace plan which calls for "no expansion" of Jewish settlements.

But Mr Bush, who has backed Mr Sharon's intention to retain large West Bank settlement blocs in a future peace deal with the Palestinians, stopped short of criticising the Israeli leader.

Mr Sharon heightened White House concern over the plan to build 3,500 homes between the West Bank settlement of Maale Adumim and Jerusalem by telling a parliamentary committee on Monday that Maale Adumim should be linked to the holy city.

Israeli officials quickly tried to ease US concerns by assuring them no building was planned for the near future.

"There are no plans to invite construction bids in 2005. It is not at an operative stage," one of the sources quoted Housing Minister Issac Herzog as telling US National Security Council official Elliot Abrams at a meeting in Washington on Monday.

Palestinians fear the project would cut them off from the eastern part of the holy city which they want as the capital of their future state.