Arafat orders 17 wanted men out of his Rahamallah compound

Jerusalem Post ^ | Aug. 2, 2003 | KHALED ABU TOAMEH

[yonif]

Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat on Saturday ordered his security forces to round up 17 wanted men sheltering in his compound in Ramallah and to transfer them to Jericho and the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian sources in Ramallah said the men were detained in a pre-dawn raid on their rooms inside the compound by masked security agents belonging to Force 17, Arafat's "presidential guard."

Palestinian security officials said most of the wanted men belong to Fatah's armed wing, Aksa Martyrs Brigades. They confirmed that the decision to evict them from Arafat's compound was in line with an agreement with Israel and the US.

In return, Israel would withdraw its forces from Ramallah and lift an 18-month travel ban imposed on Arafat, the officials added. More Fatah gunmen from Jenin, Nablus and Tulkarem would also be moved to Jericho under the terms of the deal reached between the Palestinian Authority and Israel.

The Aksa Martyrs Brigades, in a statement published in Ramallah, strongly condemned the decision to evict the wanted men and said its members would no longer abide by the unilateral cease-fire declared by Palestinian factions last month.

By Saturday evening, only five of the wanted men had agreed to move to Jericho. The remaining 12, who were being confined to a single room near Arafat's office, announced that they prefer to die rather than leave and declared an open hunger strike.

Earlier, the 17 men were brought before Arafat, who told them of the decision to evict them from the compound.

"He told us we would be allowed to return to Ramallah after the city is handed over to the Palestinian Authority," said Kamal Ghanem, one of the men who have refused to leave.

Ghanem, who heads the Aksa Martyrs Brigades in Ramallah, said Arafat told him and his friends that "the world has changed" and that he is under heavy pressure because of their presence in the compound.

Ghanem told the Associated Press: "Arafat is surrounded by thieves and collaborators who give him bad advice."

West Bank Fatah leader Hussein al-Shiekh expressed his opposition to the decision to transfer the wanted men to Jericho and the Gaza Strip. "We are against placing these men in camps without any guarantees or a political solution," he said.

"What is needed now is an Israeli withdrawal from all the cities. We insist that all the strugglers and fighters stay in their areas. They are not highway criminals."

Another top Fatah leader, Kadoura Fares, criticized the decision, saying he couldn't understand the reasons behind it. "This decision is totally unacceptable," he added. "Soon we will discover that there are no limits to the Israeli and American conditions. This will result in great confusion."

Cabinet minister Abdel Fattah Hamayel, who is in charge of contacts between the Palestinian leadership and the wanted men, defended the move, arguing that the men were being taken to Jericho for their own safety. "We want them to be able to return to normal life," he explained, adding that the decision was made following intensive discussions with Israel and the US.

Muhammed Hurani, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and a senior Fatah operative, said in response to a question whether the move was part of a deal to lift the siege imposed on Arafat: "This is a very complicated matter. We understand the sensitivity of the presence of [wanted] men in the compound. The men themselves understand this, but they want clear assurances and a solution that that won't endanger their lives."

Hurani accused Israel of seeking to instigate a Palestinian "civil war" by pursuing the wanted men, whom he described as freedom fighters.

He dismissed allegations by the Aksa Martyrs Brigades that the Palestinian Authority has abandoned the wanted men. "There should be no disowning of these men, but at the same time we should take into consideration the president's sensitive position. Israel is always trying to find an excuse to put pressure on him."

[yonif]

The media is playing this as some crackdown on terror by Arafat or something.

The fact is, Arafat wants to send these guys to Ramallah so that he might get a deal with Israel to let him move again out of his compound. They are refusing it seems. However, Arafat seems to be promising that they can come back once Ramallah is under PA control.

This is nothing but an internal power struggle between terrorists.

[joesnuffy]

Get your peanuts popcorn red hots

[Hugin]

So rather than have these guys contained where the IDF can keep an eye on them, they are now roaming freely to prepare for more terrorist attacks. And for this Israel is rewarding Arafat? I think Sharon has lost it.

[LarryM]

The problem isn't Sharon, it's Bush. Bush somehow believes that he can appease his way to victory. It is all going to blow up in his face during re-election season.

[ALS]

"Arafat is surrounded by thieves and collaborators who give him bad advice."

This must be something new. No one's ever heard of this before.

(for the libs lurking about, this is a joke!)

[stumpy]

If they can find out what room, drop a 2000lb bomb on it and remove the terrorists.

[American in Israel]

If you or I harbored a terrorist, we would be thrown in jail. But if Arafat stops harboring terrorists, he is paid.

What kind of a deal is that? They should kill the old ba$t@rd and get it done with.