THE new US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, arrives in Jerusalem today amid mounting Israeli concern that it can no longer rely on unswerving political support from Washington.

The prospect of a revived American push for the creation of a Palestinian state during President George W Bush’s second term has sent shockwaves through government circles in Jerusalem. Rice’s unique status as both America’s most glamorous diplomat and Bush’s closest foreign policy adviser has riveted attention on her maiden peacemaking mission.

After four years of US indifference to Middle East negotiation, Israeli officials fear Washington’s priorities are shifting, and that Rice’s arrival may preface a period of intense pressure for a new Palestinian deal.

The death of Yasser Arafat and the emergence of Mahmoud Abbas as the new leader of the Palestinian Authority have transformed the region’s politics and raised the tantalising possibility of an end to the four-year-old intifada, the blood-soaked Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation.

Arriving in Israel at a critical moment for the long-stalled peace process, Rice will meet both Abbas and Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister, as the two men prepare for a summit at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheikh on Tuesday.

Rice is not expected to attend the summit, but few in the region doubt she is ready to play a role in breaking the political deadlock that Bush has previously been content to ignore.

From the moment Rice stepped onto Heathrow’s tarmac on Thursday in a stylish full-length fur-trimmed coat, it was clear that an eye-catching new era of US diplomacy had begun. Not since Henry Kissinger has a US secretary of state had so much influence at the White House; and nobody photographed Kissinger for a fashion spread in Vogue.

It did not take Europe long to realise that Rice, 50, is no ordinary presidential envoy. Her rise from the segregated Birmingham, Alabama, to become the first African-American woman to lead the State Department has become part of US political legend; under hostile public questioning in London and Berlin last week she smoothly confirmed that she fully deserves her reputation for charm and intellectual poise.

Yet Rice will need all her persuasive skills as she dips her toes in the previously unrewarding swamp of Middle Eastern peacemaking. Arafat’s death last year has opened the door to a potential breakthrough, but it is far from clear how Bush and Rice will respond when negotiating crises inevitably occur.

Israel is plainly rattled. Standing alongside Tony Blair last November, Bush declared that he hoped to see the creation of a Palestinian state “in four years”. He added in his state of the union speech last week that “the goal of two democratic states, Israel and Palestine . . . is within reach”.

Impressed with Abbas’s early efforts to curb Palestinian terrorism, the administration has promised $350m in new aid. Even the US Congress, long a bastion of pro-Israeli sentiment, passed a bipartisan resolution acclaiming Abbas as “a credible leader”.

The Israelis are worried that Bush is succumbing to European pressure for a new approach to the Middle East. They fear that Bush’s need for support in Iraq has made mending fences with Europe a higher priority than support for Israel.

Rice’s itinerary reflected Washington’s mixed objectives — her visit to the Middle East is sandwiched into a whistlestop tour of eight European capitals that took her from Germany to Poland and Turkey yesterday and continues this week with a speech in Paris.

Washington newspapers were filled last week with full-page ads from pro-Israel lobbyists begging the administration not to “abandon” Israel.

Even Dov Weisglass, Sharon’s closest foreign policy adviser, was said to have been shaken by Rice’s demeanour when they met in Washington last week. “She is no doubt still a friend of Israel, but she now has a different agenda,” said a well-informed source. “The president wants a Palestinian state.”

There are conflicting views in Washington over how hard Bush wants Rice to press for further Israeli concessions on removing Jewish settlers from Palestinian territories. Some analysts see her involvement as a ploy to make Europe happy, and believe Washington does not intend to force Sharon’s hand.

Rice’s task will be further complicated by growing suspicion in Europe that the Pentagon is colluding with Israel’s military over a possible strike on nuclear facilities in Iran. Although Rice emphasised in London that there were “plenty of diplomatic means” for dealing with the Iranian threat, she also made clear that a military option remained on the table.

Iran was understood to be on the agenda when she met Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, last night. Rice was also expected to reiterate Washington’s concern that the Kremlin is “backsliding” on democracy.

It all adds up to a formidable challenge for the former national security adviser who was originally a Soviet specialist. Yet Rice’s closeness to Bush remains her greatest strength and nobody in Israel doubts she has Bush’s ear. She will report back to the president this week, and the rest of the world should quickly discover whether Washington’s commitment to peacemaking is real.

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