Israel on Sunday said 'elimination' or a 'total isolation' of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat were the options left before the government.
"Eliminating Yasser Arafat is definitely one of the options... we are trying to eliminate all the heads of terror, and Arafat is one of the heads of terror," Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said.
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Expelling Arafat or ensuring that he was completely cut off in his Ramallah compound were also options for the government, he told Israeli Radio.
Meanwhile, senior Palestinian official and Arafat loyalist Saeb Erekat said Olmert's remarks reflected nothing but 'the thinking and action of the mafia -- not a government'.
Erekat said the practical implication of the security Cabinet's decision was the killing of Arafat, which would lead to anarchy in the Palestinian authority.
"Deportation would lead to killing Arafat, and if Arafat is killed then the Palestinian Authority is also killed," he told the Army Radio.
"My hometown Jericho will be taken by Palestinian militias, in Nablus and Rafah and Khan Younis as well. Probably the first thing they will do is come to my house and shoot me, and kill all Palestinian moderates," he added.
The Israeli security Cabinet on Friday decided to 'remove' Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat accusing him of being 'an absolute obstacle to peace process'.
