Arafat expulsion getting closer - Israeli minister

Yasser Arafat’s expulsion is ”closer than ever,” the Israeli foreign minister warned today, as eight Palestinians were killed and more than wounded in clashes with troops in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Yasser Arafat’s expulsion is ”closer than ever,” the Israeli foreign minister warned today, as eight Palestinians were killed and more wounded in clashes with troops in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

In one incident, in northern Gaza, soldiers opened fire from a tank-mounted machine gun, killing three Palestinians, including a nine-year-old boy, hospital officials said.

The fighting came as Arafat was embroiled in another power struggle with his prime minister, Ahmed Qureia, who submitted a letter of resignation earlier this week, his second since July. Arafat refused to accept the resignation, and Qureia left in a huff on a private trip to Jordan today.

It was not clear whether Qureia would stick to his decision to resign.

Arafat, meanwhile, became the target of renewed Israeli threats. Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom told supporters in a speech that his expulsion is “closer than ever” and that the Palestinian leader has no place in the region.

However, senior government officials say there are no immediate plans to take action against Arafat who has been confined to his battered headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah for more than two years.

The renewed threats by Shalom apparently were part of domestic Israeli politics. Shalom is seen as a potential successor to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as leader of the ruling Likud Party, and is courting hawkish activists.