Israel's Netanyahu promises to force out Arafat if elected

JERUSALEM -- Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday night that if he's elected prime minister, his top priority would be to force Yasser Arafat into exile. But the country's current leader said Israel should not "act in haste."

Hours later, Israel's military stepped up its actions against Palestinian fighters, sending troops and dozens of tanks into the West Bank city of Nablus early Wednesday and firing missiles against a suspected weapons-making workshop in Gaza City. There were no immediate reports of any serious injuries.

Netanyahu's remarks, which drew cheers at the Likud party convention Tuesday night, put him at odds with his boss, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who has sought to marginalize Arafat but has not made any public statements about driving him out.

Instead, Sharon told the convention in a speech that immediately followed Netanyahu's remarks that Israel shouldn't move too fast on expelling the Palestinian leader.

Without specifying any steps he might take against Arafat, he pledged to wage an unrelenting battle against Palestinian militants, and predicted the effort could lead to a more moderate Palestinian leadership.

Netanyahu is challenging Sharon for the party leadership in January elections and has long called for Arafat's expulsion. His remarks have taken on added significance since he joined Sharon's caretaker government last week.

"The first order of business of the next government needs to be to expel this man," Netanyahu said in the speech.

"I promise you that as prime minister I will expel Arafat," he said. "I think this is an absolute condition to eliminate terror."

Arafat aide Nabil Abu Rdeneh dismissed Netanyahu's statements.

"These threats are rejected and will not serve efforts by the international community to achieve peace and security in the region," he said.

The Likud party will hold a ballot on Nov. 28 to chose one of them as party leader. That vote is considered important, because polls show Likud is likely to win the most seats in the Jan. 28 general elections, and the Likud leader would have the inside track to becoming prime minister.

Airstrike in Gaza City

During the early hours Wednesday, Israeli helicopters fired four missiles on a suspected weapons-making workshop in downtown Gaza City, the second such strike on the site in two days, Israeli and Palestinian officials said.

The attack demolished a car repair shop that had been severely damaged in a similar pre-dawn attack on Monday. The shop was empty at the time, and there were no reports of casualties.

The incursion in Nablus came a day after Israeli leaders began a military response to a Palestinian shooting spree Sunday that killed five Israelis at a communal farm in northern Israel, including a mother and her two sons.