Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says European members of a "quartet" of foreign mediators are biased against Israel and would stall peace efforts unless they backed the removal of Mr Yasser Arafat.
Mr Sharon said the European Union was not taking a balanced view of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and was failing to understand what he says is the need to remove the Palestinian president from a position of influence.
The quartet - the European Union, United States, United Nations and Russia - has yet to release its final "road map" to ending more than two years of Middle East violence after a two-day meeting in London last week.
But Mr Sharon's remarks could undermine its future effectiveness. Palestinians said the Israeli leader's comments showed he had no real plans to settle the conflict.
"We see eye-to-eye with the United States and not always with the other members," Mr Sharon said yesterday. The United States has called on Palestinians to replace Mr Arafat as their leader in elections and carry out reforms.
"We don't underestimate Europe," Mr Sharon said. "I would like to see very much more involvement on the European side in what's happening here, but I have one condition . . . your attitude toward Israel and the Arabs and Palestinians should be balanced".
The Israeli prime minister faces a general election on January 28th, and tough talk against the Palestinians is proving popular among voters.
In the latest violence, Israelis burying a Jewish settler killed by Palestinian militants went on the rampage in the West Bank city of Hebron, smashing the windows of Palestinian homes and setting cars alight. Several people were injured.