Jerusalem ? Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday night that if he’s elected prime minister, his top priority would be to force Yasser Arafat into exile. But the country’s current leader said Israel should not “act in haste.”

Hours later, Israel’s military stepped up its actions against Palestinian fighters, sending troops, dozens of tanks and armored personnel carriers into the West Bank city of Nablus early today, firing missiles against a suspected weapons-making workshop in Gaza City. There were no immediate reports of any serious injuries.

Netanyahu’s remarks, which drew cheers at the Likud party convention Tuesday night, put him at odds with his boss, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who has sought to marginalize Arafat but has not made any public statements about driving him out of the country.

Instead, Sharon told the convention in a speech that immediately followed Netanyahu’s remarks that Israel shouldn’t move too fast on expelling the Palestinian leader.

Netanyahu is challenging Sharon for the party leadership in January elections and has long called for Arafat’s expulsion. His remarks have taken on added significance since he joined Sharon’s caretaker government last week.

“The first order of business of the next government needs to be to expel this man,” Netanyahu said in the televised speech.

“I promise you that as prime minister I will expel Arafat,” he said. “I think this is an absolute condition to eliminate terror.”

The United States, Israel’s strongest ally, has also been extremely critical of Arafat and has cut direct contacts with him. But the Bush administration opposes driving him from power.

In New York, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan also argued against such action.

“I think many governments around the world have indicated that it would be unwise to exile chairman Arafat. I hope this will not happen,” Annan said.