JERUSALEM - Israel plans to expand five settlements housing almost half of the Jewish settlers in the West Bank, Israel's prime minister said. Ariel Sharon, who will meet with U.S. President George W. Bush on Wednesday, released the final part of his plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank just hours before he left for Washington. Sharon is seeking White House approval for his disengagement plan. The five West Bank settlements Sharon intends to keep are Maaleh Adumim, Givat Zeev, Etzion, Ariel and Kiryat Arba. "These are places that will remain under Israeli control and that will continue to grow stronger and develop," Sharon said during a visit to the West Bank's largest Jewish settlement, Maaleh Adumim. About 93,000 of the 220,000 West Bank Jewish settlers live in the five settlements. About 7,500 Jewish settlers live in Gaza. Bush said Monday he will accept the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza as long as the U.S.-backed road map to peace still goes ahead. "If [Sharon] were to withdraw from the Gaza, it would be a positive development," said Bush. It's not known if Bush will approve Sharon's plans for the West Bank. According to the terms of the road map, both sides must agree to the future of Gaza and the West Bank. Palestinians call Sharon's plan a land grab and have demanded a Palestinian state in all of Gaza and the West Bank. Roughly 200,000 members of Sharon's Likud party will vote on his plan on May 2. Polls suggest the party is evenly split on the plan but Sharon is hoping support from Bush will sway the vote in his favour. Party officials changed the vote date from April 29 because that was the same date as a key European basketball championship game and they were worried about low voter turnout.
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