President Bush last night urged the new Palestinian Prime Minister, Mr Ahmed Korei, to unleash his forces against those behind the wave of suicide bombings in Israel, write Conor O'Clery, in New York, and David Horovitz, in Jerusalem
As he did so, the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, cut short a visit to India to face pleas from some of his security chiefs and ministerial colleagues to launch a major troop incursion into Hamas strongholds in the Gaza Strip following Tuesday's double bombings.
He is also facing renewed calls to expel Mr Yasser Arafat, the President of the Palestinian Authority whom Israel holds responsible for encouraging the bombers.
Mr Sharon is believed to be reluctant to take this step, however, because it would bring him into direct confrontation with the US.
The Israeli air force responded to the latest suicide bombings by dispatching an F-16 to kill Mahmoud al-Zahar, a senior Hamas figure.
However, the attack succeeded only in killing his son and a guard and destroying his home.
The Hamas military wing, Izzedine al-Qassam, vowed revenge, saying it would widen its terrorist campaign by "targeting houses and Zionist towers everywhere in occupied Palestine".
Mr Bush said the US had not abandoned the road map to peace, but the job of the new Palestinian Prime Minister was "to get security forces under control and then to unleash those security forces against killers."
Mr Bush said: "I still believe strongly that two states living side by side in peace is a hopeful vision for the future of the Middle East."