Israel is today awaiting US guarantees over the international "roadmap" for peace with the Palestinians before committing to a possible Middle East summit.
"Without an American letter of guarantee, it would be impossible to get the Israeli government and public opinion to accept the roadmap," a senior Israeli official said.
The official was referring to a possible meeting between US President George W. Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his Palestinian counterpart, Mr Mahmud Abbas.
Israel, he said, could soon obtain the assurances it needed following a series of contacts with the United States.
Mr Sharon's chief of staff, Mr Dov Weisglass, and US National Security Adviser Ms Condoleezza Rice met earlier this week in Washington in the wake of several anti-Israeli suicide bombings.
According to the Israeli daily Haaretz, Washington agreed on Wednesday to take Israel's observations on the roadmap into consideration in return for the Jewish state's official endorsement of the plan.
US administration officials said yesterday that Mr Bush was considering a possible summit in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh with Mr Sharon and Mr Abbas, who is also known as Abu Mazen.
The summit could take place after the June 1st-3rd Group of Eight meeting in France, the officials said. Israeli diplomatic sources have named Geneva as a possible venue.
AFP