MIDDLE EAST: Quietly and subtly, Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon's declared plan for a "unilateral" Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip is metamorphosing into a pull-out co-ordinated indirectly with the Palestinians, and directly with the Egyptians and the rest of the international community.
Detailing his plan to remove almost 8,000 Jews from all of Gaza's 21 settlements, and pull out the army too, Mr Sharon has repeatedly stated he is going ahead alone, without negotiating with the Palestinian leadership, because he has no faith in the Yasser Arafat-headed Palestinian Authority.
But in the last few days, he has spoken directly with leaders of Egypt, the United Nations and the European Union, and they in turn are co-ordinating the withdrawal with the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Last week, Mr Sharon dispatched his foreign minister, Mr Silvan Shalom, for talks with Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak, who has become an improbable champion of Mr Sharon's pull-out, and is finalising an arrangement under which Egypt will send officers to Gaza to train a more efficient PA security apparatus, as well as boosting security to prevent arms smuggling at the Egypt-Gaza border. Egypt fears a spillover of fundamentalist influence into its territory if Hamas becomes a major player in Gaza.
Over the weekend, Mr Sharon spoke at length by phone with UN Secretary General Mr Kofi Annan and EU foreign affairs chief Mr Javier Solana.
Neither the UN nor the EU are at this stage suggesting their involvement in post-Israeli security in Gaza but, along with the US and Russia, they both appear ready to play a role in wider international aid efforts to rehabilitate economically the Gaza Strip, home to 1.3 million Palestinians.
Long a critic of Mr Sharon's policies, Mr Annan invited Mr Sharon to New York to discuss how the UN could directly assist in carrying out the plan and is praising the Gaza withdrawal as a brave step and one likely to advance peace.
The Egyptians are already engaged in high-level contacts with the PA over the pull-out.
In addition, Hamas's unofficial leader, Mahmoud Al-Zahar, who is anxious not to be confirmed as its head following Israel's killing of his two predecessors, said he would be holding direct talks with the Egyptians shortly.
Mr Al-Zahar added that attacks on Israeli targets would continue even after the withdrawal.
At a cabinet meeting yesterday, meanwhile, Mr Sharon ruled out immediate compensation payments to dozens of settler families who are apparently interested in moving out of the Gaza Strip ahead of the formal Israeli pull-out, which he reiterated would be completed by the end of 2005.