JERUSALEM, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Wednesday Israel might move to expel Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat by the end of the year.
"Arafat never wanted to reach an agreement with us, and all he wants is to continue the conflict and bleed the citizens of Israel," Mofaz told Israel's Army Radio. "I believe that he has to disappear from the stage of history."
Saeb Erekat, a member of the Palestinian parliament and head of the negotiations office of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said Mofaz's comments served only to ratchet up tensions and cripple peace efforts.
The New York Times said Mofaz has called for Arafat's expulsion before, though other security officials have argued Arafat would then cause more trouble than he does confined to his headquarters in Ramallah.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said an attempt to expel Arafat, which would almost surely involve force, could risk violating a promise he made to President Bush not to harm the Palestinian leader.
