'Israel not planning to kill Arafat'

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said for the first time in public yesterday that Israel has no intention to kill Palestinian President Yasser Arafat despite the Israeli government's pledge to remove him from power.

Sharon also reaffirmed Israel's determination to press ahead with construction of its vast barrier in the West Bank, in defiance of US and international pressure.

Israel drew an international outcry for its decision in principle last month to "remove" Arafat and for comments by Sharon's deputy Ehud Olmert that killing the symbol of Palestinian nationalism was an option.

"I don't see any plans to kill him although the man is responsible for deaths of hundreds, of thousands of mostly civilians because his strategy is a strategy of terror," Sharon told a group of European parliamentarians visiting Jerusalem.

"The security fence is not a political border... The fence is an additional means of preventing terror... so we will continue building it," he added.

Palestinians call the fence a land grab that cuts deep into territory they want for a state. Israel, which plans to extend the fence hundreds of kilometres, says it is a security barrier intended to keep out Palestinian attackers.

Sharon's statement on Arafat followed weeks of speculation on how and when Israel might carry out its threat to oust the Palestinian president.