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By Dan Williams

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An international "road map" to Middle East peace will be unveiled as early as next week, once the new reform-minded Palestinian prime minister and his cabinet are confirmed, a U.S. official said on Saturday.

"The road map will be issued as soon as Abu Mazen is confirmed. It could be a just matter of days," the official based in the Middle East said, using the nom de guerre of Palestinian prime minister-designate Mahmoud Abbas.

The Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) is widely expected to approve Abbas's appointment on Tuesday at a special session in the West Bank city of Ramallah. A senior Palestinian minister said he expected the road map to be released on Wednesday.

"This will be an important step toward reviving the peace process," Nabil Shaath, the minister for planning and international cooperation, told Reuters in Gaza City.

Israel was more circumspect on the latest effort to end 31 months' bloodshed. "Let's see if Abu Mazen really gets in before talking about peace moves," said a source in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites)'s office.

The United States and its so-called "Quartet" partners -- the United Nations (news - web sites), European Union (news - web sites) and Russia -- formulated the road map in a bid to stem an uprising by Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (news - web sites), which were captured by Israel in 1967.

Under the plan, Palestinians would get statehood by 2005 in exchange for reining in militants. Israel would get security.

Yet Israel has balked at the reciprocal measures required by the plan, blaming the Palestinian Authority (news - web sites) under President Yasser Arafat (news - web sites) for waves of suicide bombings and other attacks. Arafat has denied fomenting violence and endorsed the road map.

COUNTERWEIGHT TO ARAFAT

Though formulated last year, the plan was delayed as the United States went to war against Iraq (news - web sites). Washington has also echoed Israel's misgivings about Arafat and wants to see an authoritative counterweight to him in the Palestinian leadership, which has been dogged by corruption charges.

After a drawn-out power struggle, Arafat and Abbas reached agreement on a new reform cabinet this week. "Now there is a Palestinian government. It (road map) should be put into place now," Arafat told Spain's ABC newspaper on Friday.

The Palestinians want the plan implemented without further delay, while Israel has expressed reservations on its content, especially in matters of security. According to the source in Sharon's office, once the road map is unveiled the two sides will still be able to submit requests for changes.

But Washington is reluctant to amend the plan.

"I don't want to spend a great deal of time arguing about the details of the road map. I want to see both sides, in a spirit of cooperation, in a spirit of peace, with the earnest desire to move forward, to start performing," Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) said in a television interview on Thursday.

"All ... previous efforts have been frustrated by continuing resort to violence and terrorism," Powell said.

At least 2,007 Palestinians and 734 Israelis have been killed since the uprising began in September 2000. In violence on Saturday, medical officials said five Palestinians were hurt in a clash with Israeli troops in the West Bank city of Nablus.

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