Besieged Arafat Pleads for Help
By JAMIE TARABAY
Associated Press Writer
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RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) -- Yasser Arafat, caught in the tightest Israeli chokehold yet, pleaded for the world's help after troops blew up buildings in his compound Friday and started digging a deep trench and running coils of barbed wire around his office.
The White House urged Israel to show restraint, suggesting that too harsh a reprisal for a suicide bombing claimed by Arafat's Islamic militant rivals would upset efforts to reform the Palestinian Authority and secure a truce.
However, it appeared the siege would not end quickly.
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Israel said troops would withdraw only after the surrender of 20 wanted men holed up in the compound, including West Bank intelligence chief Tawfik Tirawi, who is accused of involvement in shooting attacks against Israelis. Arafat's aides said he would not hand over anyone from his entourage.
Late Friday, Israeli bulldozers began demolishing a second-floor walkway linking the two parts of Arafat's office building, effectively cutting him off from most of his security forces, Arafat aide Nabil Abu Rdeneh said.
Abu Rdeneh said Arafat and a few close associates, along with about 20 wanted men, were in one part of the building. Those inside feared the building could collapse as a result of the walkway's demolition, he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon reportedly raised the idea of expelling Arafat at a Cabinet meeting Thursday, just hours after the Tel Aviv blast. Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said the plan - for now - was to isolate, not oust the Palestinian leader.
However, TV reports said the ultimate goal of the current assault is to make Arafat seek exile voluntarily, by confining him to a tiny area and making life in the compound unbearable. Ben-Eliezer, arguing that an outright expulsion is counterproductive and would only boost Arafat's standing, proposed that plan to Sharon in the Cabinet meeting, TV's Channel Two said.
Arafat has said he would never again leave the Palestinian lands.
The Palestinians said Arafat was in grave danger. The office where Arafat is staying shook badly with one of the explosions Friday, Abu Rdeneh said. "They (soldiers) continue blowing up buildings around us," he said. Large clouds of smoke wafted across the compound after each blast.
Israeli bulldozers also started digging a deep trench around Arafat's office building. Palestinian security sources said troops later ran barbed wire around the building.
In other developments Friday, four Palestinians were killed by army fire, including an Arafat bodyguard shot by snipers in the Ramallah compound and three civilians killed in Israeli incursions and clashes in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli strikes were triggered by Thursday's attack, in which a suicide bomber set off nail-studded explosives on a crowded bus, killing himself, five Israelis and a 19-year-old Jewish seminary student from Scotland.
The Islamic militant group Hamas claimed responsibility in a leaflet sent to the Arabic satellite TV station Al-Jazeera.
Arafat's sprawling compound was heavily damaged in Israeli raids earlier. During a major offensive in March and April, Israeli troops confined Arafat to a few rooms for 34 days.
In June, troops reoccupied Ramallah and most other West Bank towns, and Arafat has not ventured from his compound since then, even on days when a military curfew was lifted.
Arafat was in relatively good spirits Friday, those around him said. He was kept awake at night by the shooting and bulldozers toppling walls, but performed Friday prayers - the highlight of the Muslim week - in his office before taking an afternoon nap. Water and electricity had not been cut, unlike in earlier raids.
Palestinian Finance Minister Salam Fayad, who said he got a few hours of sleep rolled up in a blanket on the floor, said the mood around Arafat was defiant. "We are confident of our ability to overcome this crisis," he said by telephone.
Throughout the day, Arafat spoke to several European officials and Arab leaders, including Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and Jordan's King Abdullah. Arafat asked them to pressure Israel to lift the siege. Arab leaders told Arafat they would seek an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council to discuss a demand for an immediate Israeli withdrawal, said Abu Rdeneh.
Washington cautioned Israel to show restraint, while also urging the Palestinians to try to prevent attacks on Israeli civilians. "Israel has the right to defend itself and to deal with security, but Israel also has a need to bear in mind the consequences of action and Israel's stake in development of reforms in the Palestinian institutions," said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.
The flare-up comes at a time when the United States, because of its showdown with Iraq, is particularly in need of Arab good will. Harsh Israeli action against Arafat could spoil that.
The army has not released a complete list of names of wanted men, but detailed allegations against four, including Tirawi, the intelligence chief, and Mahmoud Damra, head of Force 17, Arafat's elite bodyguard unit, in Ramallah.
On Friday morning, troops blew up three buildings, two of them already partially damaged in previous raids and one under construction. All three buildings had been used by Arafat's security forces.
During the day, 20 men did leave Arafat's compound and surrender, but it turned out none were wanted by the Israelis.
In Gaza City, Israeli forces blew up several metal workshops where the army said weapons were made. Two Palestinians were killed and nearby houses were damaged by the explosions.
Near the town of Rafah, on the Egyptian border, two soldiers were hurt when an explosion went off near their armored personnel carrier, the army said. Soldiers trying to salvage the vehicle were attacked by stone-throwers and responded with gunfire, killing a 15-year-old boy and wounding nine other people, hospital officials said.
(steely)
