In statements made during his confirmation hearing and since, Secretary of State Colin Powell has made it clear that the Bush administration intends to distance itself from the frustrating Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, to buy some time for a fresh start in the Middle East. Those statements are supported by the decision to stay out of the 11th-hour peace talks in Egypt late last month and the leisurely approach the new White House is taking in assembling a Middle East policy team.

The intention may be good – after eight years of hand-holding by the Clinton administration, it may well be time to let Israel and the Palestinians fend for themselves in the search for peace. It might have worked, too, were it not for the sharp rightward lurch Israel took with the landslide election of Ariel Sharon as prime minister Tuesday and the circumstances that led to it.

Ehud Barak, the man Mr. Sharon so soundly thumped, was elected by a landslide of his own less than two years ago. In Mr. Barak, the Israeli people knew they were getting an intense, not altogether likable individual, but one who promised to act boldly and decisively in making peace with the Palestinians. That promise was being kept, progress was being made and then last summer it suddenly started falling apart: Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat decided the unprecedented concessions and accommodations offered by Mr. Barak were not enough; Israel’s coalition government disintegrated; Mr. Sharon took a walk through an Islamic holy site; the rocks and bullets started flying.

This bizarre turn of events cannot be explained by simply saying Israelis and Palestinians got a glimpse of peace and decided they preferred war. It is absurd to believe, as the backers of Mr. Sharon apparently do, that the way to deal with Yasser Arafat is to get tough with him. The sad truth is that Mr. Arafat is no longer in a position to deal. His Palestinian state has been fractured into a loose conglomeration of cells under the control of a new generation of leaders with no allegiance to him.

The chilling truth, particularly for Secretary Powell, is that the funding for these cells and the guidance for these new leaders can be traced directly back to none other than Saddam Hussein. The Iraqi president, defeated in the Gulf War but left in power, has fully recovered. His support for Palestinian militants seeks to destroy Israel from within. His support for anti-Israel political movements in Egypt, Jordan, Syria and other Arab nations seeks to prevent a repeat of the coalition that led to his humiliation a decade ago. Unless the Bush administration acts decisively to reverse this rapidly deteriorating situation, it may soon be rushing to close the distance it has created and find it has bought time at a terrible price.