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  "We understand that there is no choice. We are one people, we want to remain one people, so that's why we met with the prime minister," said Eliezer Yaakov, a representative of the Gan Or settlement at the two-hour meeting.

President Bush, speaking at his Texas ranch Tuesday in advance of next week's meeting with Sharon, reaffirmed his support for a Middle East peace plan freezing expansion of Jewish settlements in Palestinian territories.

"Our position is very clear that the 'road map' is important and the 'road map' calls for no expansion of the settlements," Bush said.

Last month, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Israel's plan to expand the Maale Adumim settlement - home to 30,000 Israelis in the desert three miles east of Jerusalem - was "at odds with American policy" and could threaten peace with the Palestinians.

The Gaza settlers have vigorously opposed Sharon's "disengagement" plan, holding huge rallies, plastering the country with protest slogans, pushing for a national referendum to delay the pullout, and encouraging their allies in parliament to try to bring down the government.

When those tactics failed, some appealed for soldiers to refuse orders to evacuate the settlements and made vague threats of impending civil war.

But with the July pullout approaching, some settlers have begun worrying that if they don't negotiate with the government now, they will have little say in their fate.

"We don't think the battle is lost yet, but we have to take out life insurance because we know we are in a political struggle that we can lose," said Aharon Hazut, a settler at the meeting.

The new plan would relocate settlers from many of the 21 Gaza settlements to between seven and 10 new communities near the Israeli town of Nitzan, about 12 miles north of the Gaza Strip, along the Mediterranean coast.

The plan would require a major overhaul of the government's earlier compensation program, which allocated $900 million to be divided among the settlers based on complex calculations, including length of time they lived in their settlement, the size of their houses and their salaries.

The Gaza Regional Council - which represents 8,500 settlers slated for evacuation - said it still opposes evacuation, but favors the move to the Nitzan area if the withdrawal goes through.

The meeting ended with the two sides agreeing to convene again in 10 days for further talks.

The new plan faces several obstacles, including the potential opposition of residents near the planned communities and protests by environmentalists concerned that the government could be destroying natural sand dunes and desert wilderness.

"We shouldn't be enticed, for the sake of dialogue with the settlers, to sacrifice one of the most unique natural areas in Israel, and perhaps the world," Environment Minister Shalom Simhon. "We can't solve one problem by creating another."

Also Tuesday, Vice Premier Shimon Peres said Israel will ask the United States for money to help with the withdrawal. Peres spoke hours before he was to leave for Washington to meet Vice President Dick Cheney and other administration officials to discuss the pullout.

Peres refused to say how much money Israel is seeking from the United States, but an official close to the Bush administration said there are expectations in Washington that Israel would request $500 million.

© 2005 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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