Egypt dismisses Sharon proposal

Mubarak (left) says only Arafat can represent the Palestinians

By Heba Saleh BBC correspondent in Cairo

The Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, has said that Israel has to deal with the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, if it is serious about seeking peace.

The Egyptian president was responding to reports that Mr Sharon had taken to Washington plans to overhaul the Palestinian Authority and reduce the influence of Yasser Arafat.

The Israeli prime minister also discussed in the US his plans for a peace conference without Mr Arafat.

Arab leaders are eager to get political talks underway, but have no faith in Mr Sharon's conference proposal.

Interim settlement

They fear that with American backing, he will sideline Mr Arafat and impose peace on his own terms.

Mr Sharon has made no secret of his opposition to previous deals between Israel and the Palestinians.

The Saudi peace plan includes Israeli withdrawal from settlements

He wants to negotiate a long-term interim agreement rather than the final settlement the Arabs want.

By this agreement, Israeli settlements in the occupied territories would remain, and there would be no resolution to the key issues of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees.

1967 borders

Although this is not yet a formal proposal, the Arabs are already making known their reservations.

Jordan has announced it will not attend a meeting that did not have on its agenda the Arab initiative offering Israel normal relations in return for a full withdrawal from lands occupied in 1967.

Meanwhile, Egypt has insisted it will reject a conference which did not build on previous agreements between Israel and the Palestinians.