"For us Arafat no longer exists as Palestinian leader. We should have exiled him a long time ago. Besides, it is perhaps not too late," Mofaz told the French daily Le Figaro.

Mofaz's comments come at a critical time in the Middle East peace process, with talks between Israelis and Palestinians on a ceasefire stalling after one of the bloodiest periods of violence in the 32-month-old Palestinian uprising.

Mofaz also spoke out against sending a international peacekeeping force to end the bloodshed in the Middle East, as proposed by French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in recent days.

"Bringing in a military force from the outside is excluded. Whether this force is American or European," Mofaz said.

Mofaz called on the Palestinian prime minister Mahmud Abbas -- also known as Abu Mazen -- to move strongly against the radical Palestinian group Hamas, which is still refusing to renounce the use of suicide bombers in the conflict.

Abbas has "the means to act since he has security services which comprise 50,000 armed men", Mofaz said.

"We are not demanding 100 percent results (against Hamas) as even the Israeli army is not succeeding. What we want is 100 percent of effort," he said.

"Abu Mazen must not only look to neutralise the terrorist organisations. It is also necessary to confiscate the arms and destroy the workshops producing the Palestinian bombs," he added.

WAR.WIRE