WASHINGTON -- U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's row with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is leaving U.S. Mideast policy in a lurch, the ***Washington Post ***said Friday.

State department officials told the daily they felt discouraged following Powell's trip to the Middle East earlier this month, and laid part of the fault on what they said was the administration's unwillingness to stand behind Powell, AFP reported.

While Powell favors pressuring Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon to withdraw his forces from the West Bank and negotiate with the Palestinians, the officials said, Rumsfeld and his advisers advocate giving Sharon wide latitude and views his military operation as a legitimate war on terrorism.

Rumsfeld and his people, whose department has been given more of a say in Middle East policy than in the past, also see little value in trying to engage Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat in negotiations.

Powell and his team sympathize with Israel but worry that its military offensive is fostering greater Palestinian hatred. They also share the disdain for Arafat, but believe he remains central to any settlement.

The rift, the officials said, has left the Middle East policy of President George W. Bush's Administration "dead in the water."