The senior US officials are also expected to seek Sharon's commitment for changes in the route of a barrier Israel is building in the West Bank so that it does not cut as deeply into land Palestinians want for a state, the sources said.

Sharon stunned friend and foe alike earlier this month by saying he had given orders to plan for the evacuation of 17 of the settlements Israel has built on occupied land in the Gaza Strip since capturing the area in the 1967 Middle East war.

The proposal is part of a go-it-alone plan that Sharon has vowed to impose on the Palestinians if peace efforts remain stalled. He has made clear that it would leave Palestinians with less land than they are seeking for a state.

US officials have responded with favorable comment to the idea of uprooting settlements but have stopped short of embracing Sharon's unilateral approach for fear that it would bury an already-battered US-backed "road map" to peace.

The high-level delegation -- senior National Security Council official Elliot Abrams, deputy National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley and State Department envoy William Burns -- will be looking for assurances from Sharon on the road map's main principles, the sources said.

The visit could smooth the way for Sharon's trip to Washington for talks with President Bush late this month or in early March.

"There are some thorny issues that have to be dealt with to guarantee that Sharon and Bush will be smiling when they get together," one diplomatic source said.

AFP adds: Israel decided Thursday to boycott a world court hearing into its controversial West Bank separation barrier, while the violence claimed another two lives, including a 12-year-old boy, in the Palestinian territories.