Jerusalem ? A finger-wagging Yasser Arafat warned Wednesday against any attempt to send him into exile, while Israeli Cabinet ministers repeated calls to drive the Palestinian leader out of the region after the latest attack killed five Israelis.

The proposal to expel Arafat, backed by several members of Israel’s Security Cabinet, failed to win approval Wednesday.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in a television interview Wednesday that Israel’s security chiefs have advised him not to expel Arafat, as demanded by several hard-line ministers in his Cabinet. But he also said the debate would continue.

Sharon also predicted that a Palestinian state would be created after the current round of Mideast violence ends. Asked by Channel 2 TV whether he favored creating such a state formally, Sharon replied: “In the end, when terrorism will end … there will be a political settlement that will also bring this about.”

Sharon’s comments came after Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged for the second time in two days that Arafat be expelled. Sharon has sought to diminish Arafat’s powers and the government has long since halted direct dealings with the Palestinian leader.

In a speech Tuesday night, Netanyahu said if he became prime minister in January elections, his first move would be to expel Arafat.

He renewed the call at Wednesday’s Security Cabinet meeting, and was supported by Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz.

Arafat responded angrily to Netanyahu.

“Netanyahu has to remember that I am Yasser Arafat and that this is my land and the land of my grand-grand-grand-grand-grandfathers,” he said on the steps of his offices in the West Bank town of Ramallah, just north of Jerusalem.

Arafat has spent almost all of the past year at his headquarters and has completely stopped traveling abroad. Israel has said he is free to go, but suggested he may not be allowed to return to the Palestinian territories.