Siege continues at Arafat's compound
Israel declared an end to its demolition of Yasser Arafat’s West Bank headquarters, maintaining a siege around the building and demanding surrender of all the people inside, but Palestinian defiance intensified.
Palestinian leaders declared a general strike today, appealed to the Arab world for help and called on their people to resist the Israeli operation, which started after a Palestinian suicide bomber blew up a Tel Aviv bus, killing himself and six others.
Israel’s foreign minister disclosed that the Israeli Cabinet voted against a proposal to expel Arafat before sending the army into the compound.
International criticism of Israel increased. The United Nations Security Council was to convene today to discuss the operation.
The United States said that the Israeli operation was not helpful to efforts to fight terrorism. European and Arab states demanded flatly that Israel end its siege.
Arafat aide Nabil Abu Rdeneh, from the Palestinian leader’s surrounded office, said the Security Council must act. “This is a dangerous and unacceptable situation,” he said.
By the time huge Israeli military bulldozers pulled out of the compound after nightfall last night only one building stood intact - Arafat’s office, where he and his aides were confined to four rooms.
Water and electricity in the office building were cut for several hours. Palestinians interpreted this as pressure on Arafat, who continued to resist Israeli demands to hand over the people in his office.
The Israeli military said the lines were cut by accident as huge bulldozers levelled structures there. Later the lines were repaired, the military said.
Israel insisted that Arafat was not a target, but demanded the surrender of everyone inside his office, about 200 people.
Sharon spokesman Raanan Gissin said terrorists were hiding inside.
“As long as they are not put on trial before their Maker or before a judge, we will not end the siege,” he said.
