Israel will not be asked in the future to withdraw to the 1949 cease-fire lines (the Green Line) on the West Bank, according to a letter U.S. President George W. Bush is to present to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in Washington this week.

According to the letter, the determination of borders in a final status accord will take into consideration "demographic realities" on the ground.

Sharon leaves on Monday night for a crucial meeting with Bush at the White House on Wednesday. The main item on the agenda is Sharon's disengagement plan.

The two leaders will exchange letters that detail both Sharon's plan, and what America will provide in exchange for the Israeli pullout. After the meeting, Sharon and Bush will make statements from the White House Rose Garden...

...Sharon's letter to Bush will state that the prime minister intends to bring the separation plan to his cabinet and to the Knesset for approval. The letter says the plan includes the withdrawal of all Jewish settlements and Israel Defense Forces from the entire Gaza Strip, apart from the Philadelphi Road on the Egyptian border, and that it also calls for the evacuation of four Jewish settlements in the northern Samaria section of the West Bank.

Sharon's letter will reiterate Israel's commitment to the road map peace plan and to Bush's two-states vision, and it will emphasize that Israel's planned steps under the separation plan are consistent with the road map.

Bush's letter to Sharon will also contain the following:

* Reiteration of America's commitment to Israel's security and to the preservation of its strategic qualitative edge.

* A statement of commitment to the road map, and to the prevention of other diplomatic initiatives.

* Recognition of Israel's right to self defense and its right, as need arises, to carry out anti-terror operations in areas from which its forces are to be withdrawn.

* A declaration that Palestinian refugees can be absorbed in the future in the Palestinian state, just as Jewish refugees from Arab states were absorbed in Israel.

Israeli officials believe the section of this letter from Bush referring to final status borders is highly significant. They believe it constitutes U.S. recognition of Israel's future annexation of West Bank settlement blocs and the negation of a right of Palestinian refugee return to Israel.

Israel has been pushing for a clearer wording to the letter, but the Americans have made it clear that it is difficult for them to include an outward statement against the right of return due to their relations with Europe and the Arab states.

Israel also expects that the Bush administration will support the planned route of the separation fence. In exchange for such support, Israel has promised that no "enclaves" will be created that trap hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, and that the West Bank town of Ariel will not be connected to the main separation fence...