Israeli leader Ariel Sharon headed on Sunday for a visit to George W. Bush's Texas ranch, where presidential support for a Gaza pullout seemed likely to outweigh differences over West Bank settlement growth. It will be the prime minister's 10th trip to the United States since taking office in 2001 but his first taste of homestead hospitality Bush reserves for his most favored foreign guests. Sharon also owns a ranch, near the Gaza Strip. Israeli officials said they expected Bush to reaffirm at the meeting in Crawford on Monday his strong backing for the Gaza withdrawal slated for July, the first removal of Jewish settlements from occupied land Palestinians want for a state.
