HIGHLIGHTSSharon's Peace Plan Would Leave Israeli Settlements in Place||'Israeli Withdrawal from Palestinian Territories, Then Mideast Conference, ' Mahir of Egypt||Ups & Downs at Standoff in Bethlehem||Arab Foreign Ministers To Meet in Cairo to follow up on Saudi-inspired Peace Plan||STORY: US President George Bush will review two plans for a political settlement in the Middle East in the coming few days when he receives Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon on Tuesday and Jordanian King Abdallah II later in the week. Meanwhile, Israel radio reported on Saturday that a US-backed Middle East peace conference would take place in Turkey. US officials have suggested that the summit, involving Israel and so-called moderate Arab states, would be held in June.

Israeli officials said Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will seek more details about the conference when he meets President George W Bush at the White House on Tuesday.

Aides to Mr Sharon said the prime minister would present his own plans for a long-term interim deal with the Palestinians.
On another front, British and American diplomats have arrived at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, where they were trying to help resolve the siege of Palestinians by Israeli soldiers.

A resolution of the church siege would have to be very swift for Orthodox Christians to be able to celebrate their Easter Sunday in the holy site.

SHARON'S PEACE PLAN

Sharon's so-called Peace plan envisages his previous proposal for a long-term interim arrangement that would leave Israeli settlements in place in Palestinian areas -- an idea that clashes with Palestinian aspirations for sovereignty.

Zalman Shoval, a Sharon adviser and former Israeli ambassador to the United States, said that Sharon would present Bush with ideas for a long-term interim deal with the Palestinians and the two would discuss "the right formula for Palestinians to govern themselves." He said Sharon would seek in his meeting with Bush to agree "goals, but not necessarily timetables."
The Palestinians have repeatedly said they will not settle for another partial deal.

Shoval said Sharon and Bush would discuss, among other things, a large scale program to rebuild the shattered Palestinian economy and public institutions, along the lines of America's post-World War II Marshall Plan.

The two men will also discuss a planned international Mideast peace conference.

MIDEAST CONFERENCE

Both sides were also weighing a U.S. proposal for an international conference to bring them back to the negotiating table and halt the violence that has raged since a Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation broke out 19 months ago.

In Cairo, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said Israel should first withdraw from Palestinian areas before there could be any discussion of a peace conference.

Mahir was echoing assertions by the Arab League Secretary General, Amr Moussa who said the 22 nations in the Arab League will not participate in the U.S.-sponsored Mideast peace conference until Israel withdraws from lands it occupied during the latest violence with Palestinians.

Maher was due to leave for Ramallah in the West Bank on Sunday to meet Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.

Foreign ministers of the Arab League were due to meet in Cairo next week to follow up on the Saudi-inspired plan which offers Israel normal relations if it withdraws from all occupied Arab land, accepts a Palestinian state and accepts the right of return of Palestinian refugees.

.STANDOFF AT CHURCH OF NATIVITY

On the ground, negotiators struggled to bring an end to the 33-day Israeli siege of Palestinian militants in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in the West Bank.

Hopes of a breakthrough were raised and dashed throughout Saturday as U.S. and European representatives joined the effort to resolve the standoff, which started on April 2 when 30 wanted militants fleeing Israeli troops took refuge inside.
In the early hours of Sunday morning, Israeli occupation soldiers allowed boxes of food and cigarettes to be taken inside the church. Talks had broken down on Friday over their blocking of supplies.

PHOTO CAPTION

Israeli soldiers take up position to secure the entrance of a building minutes after an explosion rocked a medical clinic in the building which the Israeli occupation army claimed was a Palestinian bomb factory sited near the Church of Nativity May 4, 2002. The last round of negotiations to end Israel's siege of the Bethlehem church, revered as the site where Jesus was born, foundered on Orthodox Christian Good Friday over a dispute about delivering food to civilians holed up inside with Palestinian Resistance men. REUTERS/Magnus Johansson
- May 04 11:03 AM ET