Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel will visit Washington next week.
He is expected to meet US President George W Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell.
The main item on the agenda is the decline in violence in the region and whether the time is right to take steps toward a resumption of negotiations with the Palestinians.
The outlook is doubtful. Mr Avraham Burg, speaker of the Israeli Knesset, who is in Washington for talks, said Israeli intelligence had concluded the ceasefire is being violated and it will be reassessed by the Israeli cabinet.
Mr Burg, who met Condoleezza Rice, Mr Bush's national security adviser, on Monday, urged the administration to keep American diplomats in the region at least until the ceasefire takes hold.
While Mr Bush and Mr Powell have backed Mr Sharon in his demand that Palestinian leader Mr Yasser Arafat call a halt to attacks on Israel there is an element of disagreement on the requisite conditions for moving forward.
Mr Sharon wants a total halt; the Bush administration wants a sharp and lasting decline in attacks before taking other steps.
Also on the agenda is Mr Sharon's willingness to restrict construction of homes for Jews on the West Bank and in Gaza - and the possibility that he has not gone far enough to suit Mr Arafat.
Mr Sharon is due in Washington on June 26, diplomatic sources said. His talks may go into the following day.
PA