Netanyahu advocates Arafat's expulsion

Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Palestinian suicide bombers might target the United States if Israel does not expel Yasser Arafat from Palestinian areas.

"If we do not shut down the terror factories that Arafat is hosting -- those terror factories that are producing human bombs -- it is only a matter of time before suicide bombers will terrorize your cities here in America," Netanyahu told members of the Senate.

"If not destroyed, this madness will strike in your buses, in your supermarkets, in your pizza parlors, in your cafes."

While praising President Bush's commitment to Israel, Netanyahu took issue with Bush's demand that Israel withdraw quickly from Palestinian areas. A military solution is the only way to Israel can defend itself from the kind of attacks it now faces, said Netanyahu, prime minister from 1996-99 and now planning a political comeback.

"There can never be a political solution for terror," he told senators. "You have to defeat terrorism militarily in order to have a political process."

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has made no secret of his desire to expel Arafat -- a move opposed by the Bush administration.

Expulsion and the dismantling of Arafat's administration are part of a plan outlined by Netanyahu to end the violence in the Middle East. He wants to take away all weapons held by Palestinians and create a physical barrier between Israel and Palestinian-controlled areas, similar to the one surrounding Gaza.

Only after Arafat is expelled can peace-seeking Palestinians feel free to hold open talks with Israeli leaders, as well as conduct a democratic election to choose a new leader, Netanyahu said.

"I want desperately to have peace with our Palestinian leader," he said. "Arafat doesn't want peace."

Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., said the current Mideast situation was "a moment of crisis for Israel and the United States, and it is a crisis that we share together." He said the two nations were linked by being "victims of the same assault, of the same war" of terrorism.