U.S. peace plan calls for provisional Palestinian state

JERUSALEM -- A U.S. envoy's peace plan calling for a provisional Palestinian state next year -- and full statehood by 2005 -- drew reservations from Israelis and Palestinians on Wednesday. Expectations remain low after two years of fighting and many failed diplomatic missions.

The mediator, Assistant Secretary of State William Burns, is touring the region on a mission also seen as an attempt to keep a lid on Mideast tensions at a time when the Americans are seeking to build support among Arab states for a possible attack on Iraq.

The U.S. plan, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, would be implemented in three phases and closely monitored by the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations.

An interim Palestinian state could be established by the end of 2003, and a peace agreement formally ending the Middle East conflict and creating full-fledged Palestinian statehood could be in place within three years, according to the plan's timeline.

However, the Israelis and the Palestinians have balked at several specific steps they are called on to take.

After meeting Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, Burns condemned a Palestinian suicide bombing that killed 14 people on Monday. "It's impossible to see how any state that gives safe harbor to the groups responsible for these acts can genuinely be committed to peace," he said.

In other developments Wednesday, Israeli troops demolished family homes of two Palestinians accused of involvement in shooting attacks on Israelis.

One house was razed in the Al Ain refugee camp in the West Bank, and the second in the Rafah refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. In Rafah, 20 bystanders, including four children, were hurt by flying debris when the house was blown up, doctors said.