The harsh criticism of Israel by US Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, is being carefully monitored in the US by both Jewish and Arab supporters as an indicator of the Bush administration's leanings toward increased involvement in the Middle East.
Since taking office in January, President Bush made it clear he will not follow in the activist steps of his predecessor in foreign policy.
Leaders from Egypt and Jordan, as well as some from Palestine and Israel, have asked Mr Bush to take a more active role in promoting a negotiated settlement in the region, but Mr Bush has maintained his position that the US would simply help facilitate discussions.
Thus Mr Powell's strong words toward Israel on Tuesday were being taken as a sign the US may step up its attention to the Middle East if events warrant.
The situation is threatening to escalate further, posing a risk of broader conflict, Mr Powell said in his statement. "We have called upon all sides to exercise maximum restraint, reduce tensions and to take steps to end the violence immediately."
Mr Powell's words came shortly after Israel positioned an infantry battalion in the Gaza strip, closed borders, took over a swath of Palestinian territory, and announced plans to stay there indefinitely. Israel said it took the action in retaliation for a mortar attack four miles from the Gaza border. Just hours after Mr Powell's statement, Israel retreated. But Israel's insistence that its withdrawal was unrelated to the criticism is being met with scepticism.
Whatever the truth is, the fact that Mr Powell, who has taken the lead on US Middle East policy, made such a strong statement a month after Mr Sharon was warmly greeted in Washington by Mr Bush, is being taken as a sign that the US may in fact get more involved, and may be more willing than anticipated to taker a hard line with Israel. That may prove difficult for Mr Sharon. Almost immediately, Israeli representatives in the US were going to lengths to insist that Israel's actions were conducted independently of Washington. They remember well the political consequences for the former prime minister, Mr Ehud Barak, who was seen by Israeli hardliners as kowtowing to Washington. Mr Barak lost the election.
The US Assistant Secretary of State, Mr Edward Walker, on a visit to Jordan said yesterday that Washington would push harder to try to end Israeli-Palestinian violence and prompt a resumption of stalled peace talks.