Yaalon's criticism of Israeli policy has infuriated Sharon
Israel's army chief of staff, Lieut. General Moshe Yaalon, exposed a rift between military leaders and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon last week when he criticized Sharon's policy of keeping a stranglehold on Palestinian towns to curtail attacks by Palestinian radicals. Yaalon told columnists from three newspapers that the Israeli government's "tactical decisions" were at odds with its "strategic interests." Military officials say Yaalon fears current policies will exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territories, fuel popular rage and so provoke more attacks on his soldiers. Yaalon blames Sharon's hard-line policies for also contributing to the downfall of Mahmoud Abbas, who...
