Senior Israeli officials are calling for the expulsion of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat after his Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas resigned yesterday after a bitter power struggle with the veteran leader.
The growing chorus of Israeli threats against Mr Arafat, including a suggestion by far-right cabinet member Uzi Landau that he should "not be immune from anything," added to the sense that region's international peace plan may not be salvageable.
Mr Abbas, a moderate appointed in April under intense pressure - particularly form the US, resigned yesterday accusing both Israel and the United States of failing to give him sufficient support in his power struggle with the Palestinian president.
It is not clear, however, whether Mr Abbas's resignation will be accepted by Mr Arafat, who has far more local support than Mr Abbas.
The crisis heightened hours after Mr Abbas quit when the spiritual leader of the Islamic militant movement Hamas, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, survived an Israeli missile strike in Gaza City with only light wounds.
Israel quickly ruled out any talks with the Palestinian leadership if full control returned to Mr Arafat. And today top officials went a step further, saying he should be deported from the Palestinian Territories.
"I think Mr Arafat's expulsion is an inevitable result after years of involvement in terrorism," Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom told Israel Radio.
Other ministers have called in the past for Arafat to be ousted, but right-wing Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has overruled them, fearing an international backlash.
Palestinian cabinet member Mr Yasser Abed Rabbo said the Israeli threat was meant "to continue on the path of provocation and creating disputes among the Palestinian people."