With Middle East violence raging, Secretary of State Colin Powell is expressing frustration with both Israeli and Palestinian leaders. At a Congressional hearing Wednesday, he said neither side is giving enough thought to the consequences of its actions.

Mr. Powell says de-fusing the Middle East crisis is the administration's top foreign policy priority, but he says nothing can be achieved until the parties themselves move to contain the violence.

Appearing at a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee hearing, the Secretary said Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has the responsibility to control Palestinian factions carrying out anti-Israeli attacks, and said he is still capable of halting terrorism despite his confinement by Israeli forces to his West Bank headquarters in Ramallah.

For his part, Mr. Powell said Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon should re-examinenegotiated settlement, Israel and the Palestinians should start adhering now to the cease-fire plan brokered last year by CIA Director George Tenet and then move on to confidence-building measures proposed by the Mitchell committee.

Defending the administration's stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Mr. Powell said no issue has a higher priority or consumes more of his time.

He said President Bush's U.N. speech last November, with its explicit call for a solution producing a state of "Palestine" alongside Israel, was an unprecedented step by a U.S. leader.