New Delhi: India on September 15 took strong exception to reported statement by Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmerlt on considering assassination of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat as an option and hoped the already tense situation in West Asia would not be exacerbated by "such irresponsible" pronouncements.

"We note that the reported statement injects greater stridency in Israeli pronouncements during the last few days," Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal told reporters when asked about remarks of the Israeli leader.

Olmerlt had stated that "killing Yasser Arafat is definitely one of the options... We are trying to eliminate all the heads of terror, and Arafat is one of the heads of terror".

Expelling Arafat or ensuring that he was completely cut off in his Ramallah compound were also options before the government, he told the Israel Radio.

Sibal said India which has consistently regarded President Arafat as the elected leader of the Palestinian people and symbol of their cause, "cannot but take a strong exception to such statements".

"We hope that the already tense and uncertain situation in Israel-Palestine theatre would not be exacerbated by such irresponsible pronouncements," he said.

India firmly believed that instead of dealing with symptoms through such actions, sincere efforts should be made to address the malaise itself.

PTI