Writing Sunday in The New York Times, Mr. Carter - who brokered the landmark 1979 peace deal between Israel and Egypt - said Washington provides nearly $10 million daily in aid to Israel. In calling for economic pressure on the Jewish state, he said normal diplomatic efforts to end Middle East violence have failed.

He called Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon a strong and forceful man. He said he believes Mr. Sharon's ultimate goals are to establish Israeli settlements as widely as possible throughout the occupied territories and to deny Palestinians what he called a cohesive political existence.

He said there is adequate blame on the Palestinian side as well. He said Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has never exerted control over the radical Hamas movement or other Palestinian groups who reject the concept of a peaceful Israeli existence. He called Mr. Arafat's infrequent denunciations of violence spasmodic and probably insincere.