Sharon cancels trip to Washington

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Sunday that he would not visit Washington on May 17 as scheduled.

"He has cancelled his trip," an official in Sharon's office said.

Sharon has been publicly equivocating about his trip. He announced last week that he wouldn't go and then reversed his decision the same day.

The prime minister originally planned to fly to Washington to talk with US President George W. Bush and speak at a conference sponsored by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobby group.

Israeli cabinet gathered for its weekly meeting on Sunday to discuss the implications of Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan being overwhelmingly rejected by the right-wing Likud party a week ago.

Source: Xinhua