Sharon has used this to garner support for the Gaza plan among right-wingers in his ruling Likud Party, which has traditionally supported settlement activity.

Regardless, a rebel Likud faction joined with religious parties opposed to Jews leaving any land they controlled in Biblical times tried — and failed — to derail the Gaza plan and force Sharon's resignation.

However, the man whom Bush has nicknamed "the Bull" finally outmaneuvered all his opponents, winning the last parliamentary battle two weeks ago.

At the ranch, and in meetings later in the week in Washington with State Department and White House officials, Sharon is expected to detail ways Israel can coordinate the Gaza withdrawal with the Palestinians.

Israel believes there is a high risk for chaos in Gaza if Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas does not move quickly to disarm and arrest militants.

Flying to Washington on Sunday, Sharon said that Palestinian militants' use of mortars in Gaza after Israeli forces killed three teenagers there was "a flagrant violation of the understandings" he had reached with Abbas, "and this will be a central issue to be raised in my talks with President Bush."

Abbas says moving to strongly against the militants could lead to a Palestinian civil war. His approach instead has been to co-opt militants into reformed security agencies.

Israeli officials say they will complain to U.S. officials about this approach, but privately they say their complaints won't carry much weight given Bush's high opinion of Abbas.

Abbas is scheduled to meet with Bush within a month, although no date has been set.

Other issues that might arise in the Crawford talks are:

— Sharon aides want to discuss the threat posed to their country by Iran's rapid progress toward developing nuclear weapons. Israel perceives a softening of U.S. policy towards Iran. Many in Israel's security establishment would like the U.S. to approve a military strike against Iran, but that option appears off the table in Washington, they say.

The American side, by contrast, could raise Israel's sales to China of military equipment such as rockets, which the White House is afraid could upset the balance of power in Asia.