The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, has praised Mr Bush's decision to send the US Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, to the Middle East and the President of the European Commission, Mr Romani Prodi, has welcomed Mr Bush's speech on the Middle East crisis.
Mr Prodi said Mr Bush had shown true leadership in his statement. "I warmly welcome the statement of President Bush. It is an expression of determination and leadership," Mr Prodi said.
"We offer our full co-operation to the United States and to all other parties determined to secure full and immediate compliance with UN Security Council Resolutions - notably Resolution 1402, which calls for an immediate cessation of all acts of violence."
Mr Prodi said it was vital that the international community worked together to defuse the mounting crisis, and he warned Israel that its military offensive in West Bank towns was only inflaming the situation. "The Israeli government must act immediately to withdraw its forces from all Palestinian cities. There is no military solution to the crisis. Negotiation is the only way forward."
Mr Cowen welcomed the US President's call for the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1402.
However, the Minister for Foreign Affairs said it was "a matter of grave concern and regret" that a high-level EU delegation decided to abandon its visit to the Middle East yesterday, following Israel's refusal to allow members to meet the Palestinian President, Mr Yasser Arafat.
He also criticised the Israelis for continuing to keep the elected Palestinian leader in isolation.
Earlier yesterday Mr Cowen condemned the suicide bombings but said the EU was concerned that the Israeli response was not going to bring security to Israel. The Israeli government could not expect Mr Arafat to fight terrorism, while effectively seeking to dismantle the security and political apparatus of the Palestinian Authority.
President Chirac of France hailed Mr Bush's speech as a "true turning point", saying: "We are seeing the United States recommit itself" to resolving the conflict, he said. Any solution to the crisis required "a strong commitment by the United States".
The French Foreign Minister, Mr Hubert Vedrine, said: "I would like to salute the United States' re-engagement in the search for peace in the Middle East."
The UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, said: "I think the announcement from the White House was encouraging. I am happy that the United States is becoming much more engaged."
Mr Annan urged the Israeli leadership to listen to Mr Bush and implement Resolution 1402.
"We cannot focus on security alone and we need to understand that peace and security are two sides of the same coin," he said. "We need to broaden our efforts to bring in the political aspects, as well as do something about the horrible humanitarian conditions of the Palestinian people."
Britain also welcomed deeper US involvement and called on both Israelis and Palestinians to respond courageously to the US initiative.
The junior Foreign Office minister, Mr Ben Bradshaw, said: "The fact that America is engaged, is becoming more engaged, is something that the British government and our prime minister have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to achieve." - (Additional reporting: Reuters, AFP)