Israel has again threatened to remove Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.
"There is no room for Arafat among us, and the time will come when we will remove him . . . and that day is closer than ever," Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said today.
Israel and the United States have tried to sideline Mr Arafat, a longtime symbol of Palestinian nationalism, accusing him of fomenting violence in a nearly four-year-old Palestinian uprising.
Mr Arafat (75), who pinned down in his battered West Bank headquarters for more than two years, denies the allegations.
Mr Shalom's remarks to his rightist Likud Party, broadcast by Israeli radios, were the second threat made by Israel this week against the Palestinian leader.
Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz said on Monday that a security cabinet decision made a year ago to expel Mr Arafat was still valid, but he hinted that implementation was delayed to avoid complicating a planned Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.