In an effort to bring about enormous changes at the last minute, President Bush will arrive in Israel Wednesday to begin an eight-day trip to a half-dozen countries in the Middle East. This will be his first state visit to all the countries on his itinerary except Egypt, and Americans must hope this belated trip to such a strategically vital region means Bush now recognises the mistake he made in waiting so long.

The number one item on his agenda should be to shepherd Israelis and Palestinians into a negotiated two-state resolution of their conflict. Bush has said he wants Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to fulfill the promise of the November peace conference in Annapolis, Md, by the end of this year.

Part of his motive for such a deadline may be to salvage some meaningful achievement for his legacy. But there are also substantive reasons to prod both sides to get on with the forging of historic final compromises on the knottiest issues - borders, control of Jerusalem, and the rights of Palestinian refugees. Bush has misused American power in the past. In the last year of his presidency, he must not miss his chance to use that power in the right way for the right purpose — to “ride herd” on Israeli and Palestinian peacemakers, as he once promised to do.