Powell Criticizes Israeli Strategy

In unusually blunt language, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell on Wednesday challenged Israel’s military strategy and urged Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to reconsider his large-scale offensive against the Palestinians.

“If you declare war on the Palestinians and think you can solve the problem by seeing how many Palestinians can be killed--I don’t know if that leads anywhere,” Powell said at a congressional hearing on the budget.

“Prime Minister Sharon has to take a hard look at his policies and see whether they will work,” he said in testimony before the House Appropriations Committee.

Powell’s admonition was a conspicuously sharp public criticism of Israel. The same tough message was relayed in private Tuesday when Powell telephoned Sharon, State Department officials said Wednesday.

After weeks of appealing to Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat to help end the increasingly bloody cycle of violence, the Bush administration now appears to be holding the Sharon government accountable too.

The White House also said it would like to see Israel’s actions tempered. While accepting Israel’s right to counterattack in its own defense, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said, “[President Bush] wants it to be toned down so people do not believe this becomes a matter of war.”

Sharon angered U.S. officials earlier this week by saying that the Palestinians must be “hit hard” and “beaten,” implying open warfare.

Powell on Wednesday pointedly expressed dissatisfaction with Israel and the Palestinians and said both parties are responsible for policies that have fueled the latest violence in the 17-month-old conflict.

“I’m not satisfied that both sides have thought through the consequences of the policies they are following . . . that lead to more violence,” Powell said. “They need to take a hard look at what they are doing now.”

The secretary called the bloody deadlock “a tragic situation.”

As in the past, Powell also had harsh words for Arafat, who he again said must rein in militants responsible for a series of bombings and shootings of Israeli targets. “Arafat has to do more, can do more and must do more,” he told the legislators.