Sharon regrets sparing Arafat

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says he regrets not having killed Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Lebanon 20 years ago.

In excerpts of an interview with the Israeli newspaper Ma'ariv, Mr Sharon said: "In principle, I'm sorry that we didn't liquidate him."

Mr Sharon was Israeli defence minister at the time Israeli troops invaded Lebanon in 1982 in an attempt to drive Mr Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organisation out of Lebanon.

"In Lebanon, there was an agreement not to liquidate Yasser Arafat," Mr Sharon said.

However, a spokesman for Mr Sharon, Raanan Gissin, told the BBC that Mr Sharon's comments reflected past policy, which was not valid today.

He said Mr Arafat could still be a partner if he took action to arrest Palestinian militants organising attacks on Israel.

The Israeli prime minister has blamed Yasser Arafat for the recent upsurge of violence and has confined him to virtual house arrest inside his Ramallah headquarters in the West Bank.