The White House said it sees the withdrawal as a "positive" and potentially "historic" interim step while the US-backed "road map" Middle East peace initiative remains stalled. US and Israeli officials have been ironing out the details and are seeking cooperation from Egypt, Jordan and others.

US officials said next month's meetings marked a new push by the administration to calm rising tensions in the region after the assassination of Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin by Israeli forces. As part of that effort, the White House has decided to delay, possibly until mid-April, new US economic sanctions against Syria for backing anti-Israel militants, sources said.

Bush will meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, one of Washington's closest allies in the Arab world, at the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas, on April 12.

He will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on April 14, and lend support to his plan to withdraw settlements in the Gaza Strip, people involved in the deliberations said.

US and Israeli officials want to make sure the withdrawal does not allow Hamas to cement its grip over Palestinian affairs in Gaza. Egypt has offered to secure its side of the border with Gaza, a move Israel sees as crucial to staunching the flow of weapons to Hamas.

At their meeting, Bush and Sharon are expected to "finalise understandings" on the settlements and security arrangements in Gaza, one source said.

Bush will then meet with Jordan's King Abdullah on April 21, the White House said.

An Israeli diplomat in Washington said the goal of Bush's talks with the three leaders was to forge a "consensus behind Sharon's proposal for unilateral disengagement" from the Palestinians, including Israel's full withdrawal from Gaza.

"This is not going to be easy, but it's doable," the diplomat said.

Yassin's killing prompted threats of revenge from Hamas and was a major setback to the road map, already mired in violence. But Bush held out hope of reviving the plan.

He told reporters on Tuesday he would send a delegation to the region next week to "see if we can't keep the (peace) process alive."

The American team will be led by deputy national security adviser Stephen Hadley, National Security Council Middle East chief Elliot Abrams and Assistant Secretary of State William Burns, officials said.

With the "road map" all but dead, the Bush administration has been moving toward an agreement with Israel on the details of the withdrawal plan, sources said.

"The 'road map' is the preferred solution. ... But there's just no effective Palestinian leadership to negotiate with," the Israeli diplomat said.

Sharon has proposed evacuating most of the 7,500 Jewish settlers living in hard-to-defend enclaves in the Gaza Strip and setting up a new "security line" in the West Bank.