Israel's army chief of staff Gen Shaul Mofaz, revealing an apparent rift with the government, said today Israeli generals favoured expelling Palestinian President Yasser Arafat from his homeland.
"We know that with Arafat the chances of reaching a peace agreement don't exist, and if he stays here he will probably continue to orchestrate terror," Mofaz told a news conference.
"When we look at it like that, it's better if he be out of here. But this is the position of the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) and at the end of the day the decision is among political leaders," Gen Mofaz declared.
Gen Mofaz, due to step down from his post in June, was speaking just hours after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said the security cabinet had decided to keep Arafat isolated at his besieged headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
"The decision is that (Arafat) will stay in the place where he is and he will be isolated," Mr Sharon told reporters after a late-night meeting of his security cabinet.