Sharon Cancels US Trip as Israeli Troops Demolish..

"The prime minister has decided not to go to Washington. He will be having consultations here in Israel regarding the disengagement plan," his office said on Sunday, referring to the initiative voted down by the right-wing Likud party one week ago.

Sharon had been scheduled to address a policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israeli advocacy group, on 17 May, and aides said last week a meeting with US President George Bush was likely.

But with the fate of the Gaza plan still unclear and an Arab world seething over what it sees as Bush’s pro-Israeli slant and US abuse of prisoners in Iraq, the timing for talks with Sharon might not have been right.

There was no immediate comment from the White House.

"It will take me another three weeks to put the plan together and then I will present it to the government," a political source quoted Sharon as telling his bickering cabinet at its weekly meeting.

Israeli Troops Demolish Palestinian Homes

Israeli troops demolished 13 Palestinian homes along a Gaza road Monday, after Palestinian gunmen ambushed Jewish settlers there during an outdoor memorial service at the spot where an Israeli family was killed last week.

On Monday, Israeli bulldozers flattened 12 one-story houses along the road, which links Israeli settlements in Gaza with Israel and is heavily guarded. A four-story apartment building was also blown up by troops, Palestinian officials said.

In all, about 75 Palestinians were left homeless, all members of the same clan.

"They left nothing for us," said Yousef Abu Hadaf, one of the home owners. "The bulldozers are uprooting trees, demolishing our houses."