By Harvey Morris
To the consternation of Israeli officials and the surprise of all but the most sceptical Palestinians, the signals from Washington appear to confirm that President George W. Bush really is determined to push through his "road map" to peace.
The arrival in the region at the weekend of Condoleezza Rice, the president's national security adviser, will reinforce the message he gave at the Aqaba summit this month that he regards the peace process as the "highest priority".
For once, Israel's skilful and well-informed corps of diplomats and negotiators appear to have been wrong-footed. They correctly predicted that, after the war in Iraq, Israel would come under pressure to renew the peace process. They seem to have miscalculated, however, in thinking that their solid relations with the Bush White House would help them water down the road map plan.
The apparent strength of Mr Bush's commitment has even surprised some US diplomats, who used to complain that their detailed reports on the deteriorating situation in the region never appeared to make it as far as the White House.
Some officials in the government of Ariel Sharon initially dismissed Mr Bush's re-engagement with the peace process as a short-term reward to Tony Blair, UK prime minister, for his support in the Iraq war.
Perceiving divisions within the administration, they counted on friends in the White House, including Ms Rice, to counter State Department pressure for a more proactive US role in pushing the peace process.
However, Colin Powell, secretary of state, last weekend assured the other leaders of the international quartet - the United Nations, European Union and Russia - that all branches of the administration were working in concert on advancing the president's Middle East vision. Moreover, he promised them Mr Bush was committed to the process for the "long haul".
On Thursday Ms Rice said Israel had offered Palestinians remarkable concessions at the Camp David summit in 2000 but that Yassir Arafat, the Palestinian leader, had chosen instead to launch the intifada.
But with the appointment of Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian prime minister, and the engagement of Arab states in the process, she said: "It is now time for Israel to take the opportunity before it."
Speaking at London's International Institute for Strategic Studies, Ms Rice stressed that Mr Bush believed it was in Israel's interest to achieve a two-state solution. Although she would not be drawn on condemnation of specific Israeli actions, such as assassinations of radical Palestinian militants, she said the president was "speaking the truth" to both sides.
Whether the US presidential election campaign will have an impact on Mr Bush's commitment has yet to be seen. However, countering the spin from Israeli officials that Israel's secret weapon is the personal relationship between Mr Bush and Mr Sharon, US officials suggest that the two men are not that close. Moreover, they stress that the president is genuinely impressed by Mr Abbas and Mohammed Dahlan, his security chief.
At Aqaba, Mr Bush appointed Mr Powell and Ms Rice as his principal contacts with the parties and also named John Wolf, a State Department veteran, as his envoy in the region.
Ms Rice handled most of the contacts with Dov Weisglass, Mr Sharon's chief of staff, in the run-up to publication of the road map. He assured the cabinet that Washington looked set to incorporate most of Israel's reservations into the peace plan. But when the document was officially presented on April 30 not a phrase of a draft first circulated last December had been changed.
Ephraim Halevy, Israel's national security adviser, had warned that the Bush administration was serious about promoting the plan. But the former Mossad chief's advice went unheeded. He quit last weekend.
Ms Rice is due to meet leaders of both sides during her visit. The Palestinians may announce an agreement of militant factions to abide by a ceasefire.
Progress is awaited on a transfer of Israeli security control in the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority.
Underscoring the new US hands-on approach to the road map's progress, people familiar with the discussions say Mr Powell spent an hour-and-a-half last Sunday on Gaza maps to determine where Israeli forces may or may not remain once a withdrawal goes ahead.
