The "road map," an official document presented to Palestinian and Israeli leaders on April 29, outlines a plan officials say would end conflict and result in the formation of a Palestinian state by the year 2005.

On Sunday, the Israeli Cabinet voted in favor of the "road map", but added 14 points of concern or "reservations." Those points include calls for the complete dismantling and rebuilding of the Palestinian security force, the destruction of terrorist groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and "the waiver of any right of return for Palestinian refugees to the State of Israel."

A history of conflict

Israelis and Palestinians have been fighting since 1948 over who has the right to the land they now share.

Before World War II, the area, then called Palestine, was under British control and mostly populated by Arab Muslims. After 1947, the British allowed Jews persecuted in the Holocaust to set up a Jewish state in the area, now called Israel.

Since then, Israel and its Arab neighbors have fought two wars - one in 1948 and a second in 1967 - over rights to the land. Both wars resulted in Israel controlling more of the area.

The current "road map" is the fourth attempt by the U.S. in 25 years to broker a peace deal. In 1978, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat visited the U.S. for a peace summit hosted by President Jimmy Carter. Both leaders won the Nobel Peace Prize for their work together, however, Sadat was assassinated three years later by Muslim fundamentalists.

In 1993, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat, head of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), signed the Oslo Accord, an American proposal that provided a timetable for Israeli withdrawal from Arab-populated areas. Again, both leaders won the Nobel Peace Prize, but Rabin was shot two years later by a Jewish extremist.

More recently, Arafat and then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak met with President Bill Clinton for a summit in 2000. The summit raised hopes that an agreement would finally be met, but in late 2000 violence in the region escalated and hundreds of people died.

What each side must do to achieve peace

The current "road map" lists several goals that each side must meet in order to achieve peace. The U.S. hopes that the process will be a success because of a recent change in Palestinian leadership.

Last month, Arafat took a step back from power by appointing Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, as new the Palestinian prime minister. Abbas is a longtime member of the Palestinian leadership, but is generally considered more moderate and less controversial than Arafat.

Under the "road map," drafted by the U.S., Russia, the European Union and the United Nations, Palestinians must implement an immediate end to suicide attacks, continue democratic reforms to their government institutions and reiterate Israel's right to exist in peace and security.

Israelis must pledge support for a Palestinian state, end all work on settlements in contested territory and normalize Palestinian life by ending occupation of towns and easing blockades.

Official talks on the proposal began earlier this month when U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell traveled to the Middle East to meet with Palestinian and Israeli officials.

But, recent Palestinian suicide bombings and reprisal attacks by Israeli troops threatened to stall the peace process.

Sunday's Cabinet vote marks a step toward beginning to implement the plan and precedes a meeting between Abbas, Sharon and President Bush, which is tentatively scheduled for next week.