While his enigmatic predecessor Yasser Arafat, accused of dabbling in “terror”, was blacklisted by Washington, Abbas will be received on Thursday by US President George W. Bush, who has repeatedly praised him for his determination to end the violence.

The Palestinian leadership is concerned, however, that the recent eruption of violence in the Gaza Strip, which has shaken an informal truce in place since late January, may put Abbas in an embarrassing position with the US administration.

“Abu Mazen (Abbas) will lay out everything achieved by the Palestinians, notably the truce, the security and judicial reforms and the consolidation of democracy through the elections,” Palestinian national security adviser Jibril Rajub told AFP.

“He will also inform President Bush about the Israeli violations which are undermining the efforts at reinforcing the calm and restarting negotiations,” he added.

Rajub said Abbas would also bring up the “assurances” Bush gave to Israel last year, in which he said it would be unrealistic to envision a complete Israeli pullback to the 1967 border or a return of the Palestinian refugees to their land.

Bush had taken a positive position toward the Palestinians, Rajub said, pointing to the US leader’s support for the creation of an independent Palestinian state, his opposition to Israeli settlement activity and his frank defence of Abbas.

“Abu Mazen (Abbas) will explain to President Bush that an independent Palestinian state is the best guarantee of stability in the region and an essential part of the fight against terrorism, which is fuelled by the Israeli occupation,” he added.

But the continuing absence of any political perspective would ”keep the region in a vicious circle,” Rajub warned.

“The level of confidence between Israel and the Palestinians is zero, which is why we need American intervention,” he said.

“We have great hopes for this summit because the regional and international context looks favourably on the idea of US involvement in order to ease tensions,” he added.

For chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat, Abbas’ visit to Washington is “extremely important because the truce and the peace process are both close to collapse.

“We need serious American intervention to put an end to the deterioration and to ensure application of the roadmap,” he said, referring to the internationally drafted peace blueprint which foresees the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

Erakat said it was crucial that Bush declare the forthcoming Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip “as part of the roadmap and not a substitute for it, as Israel wants it to be.”

Following talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Saturday, Abbas said he would present Bush with two main demands: ”US political support for the Palestinians, in other words application of the roadmap, and support for the Palestinian economy.”

He also said he would press the US leader for a commitment to restart the Mideast roadmap immediately after Israel withdraws from Gaza this summer.

“We will ask Bush about the American position on starting implementation of the roadmap after the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza,” Abbas said. “We will ask him to ensure it is implemented.”

In light of the recent escalation in Gaza, Rajub called on militant groups to halt their attacks on Jewish settlements, saying they “played into the hands of (Israeli Prime Minister) Ariel Sharon” and could have a negative impact on Abbas’ Washington talks.

If such shooting continued, “the agenda at the summit could be limited to the rocket fire against settlements and the need to disarm those responsible for them,” he warned.