His spokesman Raanan Gissin told AFP the government would vote on the blueprint "as soon as possible," leaving little doubt he expects it to be adopted despite any objections from hardliners.

But he also made it clear it was not being approved without the changes the Jewish state has demanded from the United States.

"Its a clear acceptance in the context, incorporating the US clarification and pledges, not without them," Gissin said.

The White House earlier in the day issued a statement recognising Israel's concerns, which had threatened to hold up the "roadmap".

The move by Washington, one of four architects of the roadmap, came after Sharon made it known he would never accept the plan as it was first presented on April 30.

The three-step plan calls for the ending of the Palestinian uprising ahead of the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005.

Israel would notably be obligated during the first phase to immediately dismantle wildcat settlement outposts which have sprouted up since the hardline Sharon came to power in March 2001 and completely freeze Jewish settlements in the occupied territories.

He claimed the roadmap, which has already been accepted by the Palestinian leadership, would have put Israel's security at risk. He insisted violence by Palestinian extremist groups must be halted before Israel began to honour its commitments.

But the Palestinian prime minister, Mahmud Abbas, warned he would not implement the plan as long as Israel had not formally accepted it.

Abbas had wondered very loudly how the Palestinians were expected to lay down their arms if Israel refused to make the slightest concessions. He pressured Bush in a telephone call Tuesday to make sure Sharon accepted it first.

The other backers of the roadmap -- the United Nations, the European Union and Russia -- also rejected any renegotiation of the roadmap.

The White House solved the problem by having US Secretary of State Colin Powell and national security advisor Condoleezza Rice on Friday issue a brief statement recognizing Israel's "significant" concerns about the roadmap and said they would be addressed.

Sharon had submitted a list of 15 concerns about the plan -- which reflect his government's radically different interpretation from what the Palestinians have accepted and would ultimately change the way it is implemented.

The Palestinians, backed by the Europeans, agree with the original idea that both sides should implement the plan in a "parallel" manner.

But the Israelis, who say they are supported by the United States, are demanding Abbas take concrete measures to end terrorism as a precondition for making any peace moves.

"There is a preliminary stage that has to be accomplished, enunciated very clearly by President Bush, and that is steps (have to be) taken to stop terrorism, to stop the incitement," Gissin said in an interview with CNN.

Despite both sides apparently having signed up to the plan, their firmly entrenched positions only sets the stage for endless negotiations on the nuts and bolts of making it a reality.

Which is certainly why Bush has raised the possibility he will host his first Middle East summit with both leaders next month.

WAR.WIRE