Palestinian Prime Minister Mr Ahmed Qurie will meet with US national security adviser Ms Condoleezza Rice later this month in an effort to apply pressure on Israel to implement the stalled peace road map.
After months of the White House keeping Palestinian leaders at arm's length, Palestinians were counting on Mr Qurie's planned talks with Ms Rice to push Sharon into dealing with his Palestinian counterpart.
Amid discord in Israel over "disengagement," Ms Rice will meet Mr Qurie in Germany in mid-May for what would be his highest-level session with US officials since taking office in late 2003.
Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon's deputy said he aimed to pursue his unilateral "Disengagement Plan" in full despite its rejection by his right-wing party.
"We welcome this meeting. It is important since it would restore the relationship between the Palestinian Authority and the United States to the way it was before," said Mr Qurie's negotiations minister, Mr Saeb Erekat.
"We hope the American side will introduce mechanisms of implementation of the road map and send observers on the ground to start implementing it. We are committed to implementing our obligations under the road map," Mr Erekat told Reuters.
An Israeli official in Washington insisted President Bush had not rowed back on his presidential "guarantees" to Mr Sharon.
In the latest West Bank violence, Israeli soldiers raided the village of Beita and shot dead a Palestinian during clashes with stone-throwing youths, medics said.