WASHINGTON, 13 October — The Bush administration and American Jewish lobbyists and community leaders are preparing for a full-blown confrontation following the president’s endorsement of Palestinian statehood last week.

President Bush is the first Republican to openly endorse the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Jewish leaders are furious over news reports that the administration was considering a new Israeli-Palestinian peace initiative that would include support for the creation of a Palestinian state and a possible meeting between President Bush and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

"This is a very short-sighted and erroneous policy," said Mortimer Zuckerman, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organization. "It means that if you attack America, you’ll get something. This is the wrong message to send at the wrong time," he told journalists.

A similar opinion was released by the powerful pro-Israeli lobbying organization in Washington, AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which called it "unthinkable" that Arafat should "gain US support for a Palestinian state."

"Those who are urging the president to meet with PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat… and announce support for a Palestinian state at this time, are undermining America’s war against terrorism," the AIPAC statement said. "They are encouraging the president to reward, rather than punish, those that harbor and support terrorism."

The timing of the leak of the presidential response further infuriated American Jews because it came during a Jewish holiday. Jewish leaders are saying they believe the announcement was intentionally released at a time when many of the Jewish community do not watch television or speak on the telephone. Had it not been released during the Jewish holiday, a more abrasive reaction could be expected, they said.

American Jewish responses contrast sharply with reactions in Israel, where President Bush’s statement was shrugged off.

A Foreign Ministry official told the press that the idea of Palestinian statehood was "nothing new to us. Our own policy is to eventually negotiate with Palestinians and it is pretty clear that we don’t exclude a Palestinian state."