US Secretary of State Colin Powell is expected to visit the West Bank next week to meet the new Palestinian provisional leadership.
The talks would be Mr Powell's first in Palestinian territories since May 2003, when he laid the groundwork for a US-backed peace "road map" that has since been shredded by Israeli-Palestinian violence.
Mr Powell would likely hold talks with the new Palestine Liberation Organisation chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ahmed Korei, both seen as moderates, during his visit.
Mr Powell's visit could add substance to US President George W. Bush's pledge for a new push towards peace and creation of a Palestinian state following the death last Thursday of President Yasser Arafat, whom Washington had shunned.
Mr Bush said last week that the death of the veteran Palestinian leader could open a new chapter in the Middle East peace process.