A day after he stunned Israelis and Palestinians by describing his nation's long hold on the West Bank and Gaza Strip as an "occupation", Ariel Sharon backtracked, referring to Israel's "control over disputed lands".

The Israeli Prime Minister's office issued a clarification on Tuesday after he was criticised by furious right-wing MPs for using a term many believe could buttress Palestinian claims to the land seized by Israel in 1967.

The dispute over language came as the fragile new peace process appeared to struggle to make headway. Israeli and Palestinian leaders postponed a meeting planned for yesterday ahead of talks with President George Bush in Jordan next week.

With the US urging the two sides to push forward on the "road map" peace plan, Mr Sharon has faced continued criticism from right-wing politicians for persuading his cabinet to endorse it on Sunday and for his comments defending it.

"You may not like the word, but what's happening is occupation," Mr Sharon told angry MPs from his Likud party on Monday. And occupation, he said, repeating the word throughout his comments, "is a terrible thing" for both Israelis and Palestinians.

On Tuesday Mr Sharon said he had been referring to Israel's rule over Palestinians, not the occupied territories themselves.

Palestinian officials had described Mr Sharon's original words as a watershed for a man long viewed as unlikely to cede territory or forge peace.

The Palestinian Information Minister, Nabil Amr, and other officials voiced concern, however, about emerging details of Israel's objections to the peace blueprint that Mr Sharon's cabinet insisted on attaching before it voted to endorse the plan.

Israel has demanded a "complete cessation of terror" before it begins implementing the plan. Palestinian officials say this would hold the process hostage to anyone with a bomb or gun.

The demand is among 14 amendments, leaked to the media on Tuesday, that the Israeli cabinet is seeking to the plan.

However, the Israelis say they should not be subject to similar conditions.

"The road map will not state that Israel must halt violence, incitement against the Palestinians," the document says.

Other minimum demands include a requirement that the Palestinians waive any right of return to Israel for refugees, and the dismantling of Hamas and other "terrorist" organisations.

Israel also demands a bar on any discussion within the plan of the fate of established Jewish settlements or Jerusalem until final-status talks towards the end of the process, and acceptance before talks begin that Israel will control the borders and other aspects of a provisional Palestinian state.

Crucially, Israel objects to the concept of the sides implementing commitments in parallel. Instead it wants "performance benchmarks", and the right to decide if these have been reached.

The Palestinian Prime Minister, Mahmoud Abbas, said yesterday that Israel should drop its reservations and embrace the peace plan as a historic opportunity.

THE NEXT STEPS
• Ariel Sharon and Mahmoud Abbas to meet as early as today.
• Israel's US ambassador, Daniel Ayalon, meets George Bush today.
• Bush to meet Arab leaders in Egypt to promote the plan.
• A summit with Bush, Sharon and Abbas in Jordan next Wednesday.