DAVIE, Florida, Oct 9 (AFP) - Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry warned Saturday that if he wins the November 2 election there will be no reprieve for sidelined Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
In hard hitting remarks in Florida, Kerry also promised to come down hard on nations in the Middle East that support groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.
Kerry praised Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for his "courageous" plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip.
But two days after bombings at an Egyptian Red Sea resort which killed at least 32 people, most of them Israelis, Kerry warned that Israel was under attack.
"People are trying to continue to create havoc ... Israel remains under assault, kids blown up on buses, people sitting at restaurants, trying to live their lives," Kerry said.
"We have been at this for a long time. Mr Arafat has proven his unwillingness and incapacity to be be able to act as a legitimate partner in the peace process."
Kerry also said his job as president, if he wins the November 2 election, would be to "hold those Arab countries accountable that still support terrorists, Hamas, Hezbollah, Al-Aqsa brigades, and others.
"I will not give one inch in our efforts to do that," he said during a rally at a community center in Broward County, where there is a growing percentage of Jewish voters.
President George W. Bush riled US allies in Europe and the Middle East by refusing to deal with Arafat, saying he had links to terrorism and cannot be trusted to talk peace.
On Friday, in the second presidential debate in St. Louis, Missouri, Bush repeated his stern line on the Palestinian leader.
"I wouldn't deal with Arafat because I felt like he had let the former president down and I don't think he's the kind of person that can lead toward a Palestinian state," Bush said.
"People in Europe didn't like that decision," he said. "But it was the right thing to do. I believe Palestinians ought to have a state, but I know they need leadership that's committed to a democracy and freedom, leadership that would be willing to reject terrorism."
Kerry said the proper posture for a US president was to help create conditions which would allow Palestinian leaders to emerge who could be trusted to build peace with Israel.
But he did not offer specifics on how his plan would differ from that of Bush, who has avoided playing the kind of direct role amid escalating Israel-Palestinian violence, taken by his predecessor Bill Clinton.