Israeli Prime Minister-elect Mr Ariel Sharon has signalled his satisfaction with the new US administration's initial policy towards Israel before a visit later this week by US Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell.
Still struggling to form a unity government with a fragmented Labour Party, Mr Sharon took time off from political wrangling yesterday to meet an advisory team to prepare for talks with Mr Powell, who embarks on a four-day Middle East visit tomorrow.
A senior foreign policy adviser to Mr Sharon said members of President George Bush's administration have spoken of "a new bilateralism". He took this to mean US-Israeli ties would stay strong even without progress in peacemaking with the Palestinians.
The adviser, US-born Mr Dore Gold, a former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, held talks at the White House last week as part of a three-man delegation Mr Sharon dispatched to Washington in a first-contact mission with Bush officials.