Sharon to submit replacement plan

Sharon was weakened by last week's vote against his plan

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is to submit an alternative to his plan of unilateral disengagement from Palestinian areas within three weeks.

Mr Sharon made the announcement at a cabinet meeting following his Likud party's rejection of the plan to pull out of Gaza and parts of the West Bank.

He has cancelled a planned visit to the US to start consultations on the plan.

Meanwhile, Arab League chief Amr Moussa has said that the postponed Arab summit will be held in Tunis on 22-23 May.

The annual summit - where Mr Sharon's pullout plan and also Iraq are set to be the key issues - was postponed due to differences between some Arab nations over political reforms.

On Sunday, violence continued in the Gaza Strip, where at least one Palestinian was killed in an exchange of fire with Israeli soldiers.

The gunfight near the Kissufim crossing began after Israeli settlers - attending a memorial ceremony for a pregnant mother and her four daughters killed last week - suddenly where shot at by Palestinian gunmen.

Plan in 'three weeks'

No details have been given of Mr Sharon's proposals, which are to be put before the government for a vote, Israel army radio reported.

Qurei is meeting one of Bush's top advisers next week

Tourism Minister Benny Elon and Transportation Minister Avigdor Lieberman, both from the right-wing National Union party, walked out of the Likud meeting, Haaretz newspaper reported.

They were protesting that the plan had even been put on the agenda following last week's overwhelming rejection by the Likud party.

Mr Sharon told colleagues he would formulate the plan after consultations, expected to take three weeks.

The BBC's Matthew Price in Jerusalem says the Israeli prime minister was clearly weakened when he lost the Likud vote, despite firm backing for the proposal from US President George W Bush last month.

Mr Bush and the Israeli leader had been likely to meet during Mr Sharon's visit to Washington on 17 May, Mr Sharon's aides said. He was to have addressed a pro-Israeli group on the trip.

Roadmap push

The Palestinian leadership has renewed its calls for a return to the international peace plan known as the roadmap.

Palestinians reject Mr Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan, saying it is being imposed on them.

Later this month Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei is expected to meet US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice - his highest-level meeting with US officials since taking office late last year.

Mr Qurei is likely to insist Washington helps to kick-start the roadmap, which envisages a Palestinian state being set up by the end of next year.

Mr Bush told an Egyptian newspaper is would now be "hard" to achieve a Palestinian state by 2005, as the roadmap proposed when it was first unveiled.