Israel's vice premier said today killing Palestinian President Yasser Arafat was an option in its threat to "remove" him as an obstacle to peace.
"Killing is definitely one of the options," Mr Ehud Olmert, a mainstream member of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's cabinet, told Israel Radio.
"We are trying to eliminate all the heads of terror, and Arafat is one of the heads of terror," Mr Olmert said.
Palestinian chief peace negotiator Mr Saeb Erekat said in response: "This is the thinking and action of the mafia - not a government."
Israel's security cabinet decided to "remove" Arafat after two suicide bombings killed 15 Israelis on Tuesday, the latest surge of violence in a three-year-old Palestinian uprising for statehood. But it did not say when it would move against him.
The vague wording left room for several options, including exiling, isolating or killing Mr Arafat - a proposal which Israeli security sources said hardline Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz raised but Mr Sharon shot down.
One security source said that while Mr Arafat's assassination had been raised, "the only contingency plan that exists is to put him on a helicopter and exile him".
The Israeli threats sparked Palestinian demonstrations in support of Mr Arafat and an international outcry, with Washington - Israel's main ally - leading calls not to take action that could destroy a US-backed peace plan battered by violence.
Mr Erekat said Israel "was determined to kill Arafat and throw the Palestinians into chaos and anarchy".
Speaking on Israeli Army Radio, he said if Israel killed Mr Arafat, Palestinian militias would take over cities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip administered by the Palestinian Authority.
"Probably the first thing they will do is come to my house and shoot me...and kill all Palestinian moderates," Mr Erekat said.