Israel may expel Arafat to Gaza

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's declaration Friday that he was no longer bound by a pledge to the United States not to harm Arafat sparked outcry abroad and speculation in Israel that he was trying to rally right-wing support for a Gaza pullout plan.

A Sharon deputy cast the remarks as a warning to Arafat, who is under virtual Israeli siege in his West Bank compound accused of fomenting violence in a Palestinian revolt. The ex-guerrilla leader denies this, but says he would welcome "martyrdom."

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"Prime Minister Ariel Sharon does not intend to put something into action this very week, or today or tomorrow," Vice Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Army Radio on Sunday.

"He set out a position in principle regarding Arafat and the immunity he (Arafat) thought he enjoyed."

A senior source in Sharon's office said Israel was examining different plans of action against Arafat. "One option is to expel him to Gaza," the source said without giving details.

Sharon wants to pull Israeli troops and settlers out of Gaza by 2005, leaving the cramped coastal strip clear for Palestinian statehood. Palestinians reject the Sharon "disengagement plan" as a ploy to cement Israel's hold on much of the West Bank.

The Israeli prime minister also faces opposition from within his Likud party, which will hold a May 2 referendum on the plan.

Political analysts saw Sharon's latest threats on Arafat as a bid to win over the more hawkish of Likud's 200,000 members against robust lobbying by pro-settler groups.

"He is warming up to their rowdy temperament in order to guarantee their support for his disengagement plan," commentator Uzi Benziman wrote in the left-leading newspaper Haaretz.

Washington says it still holds Sharon to his promise not to physically harm Arafat.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie issued a statement blaming US "bias" toward Israel for emboldening Sharon.