Jerusalem: Expelling Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat "would not be good for Israel", Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in an interview published in the 'Jerusalem Post' newspaper on October 17.

"Our calculations for years have been that expelling him would not be good for Israel," Sharon told the English-language daily.

"Also, the likelihood of expelling him without harming him is low, not only because of his security guards, but because he would be surrounded by a human chain of Israelis."

"The opinion of our intelligence services is that expelling him would not be a good idea."

The paper carried the interview on its front-page under the banner headline, "PM rules out expelling Arafat."

Agencies