Arafat defiant as Israeli army tightens siege

11.00am

RAMALLAH, West Bank - Yasser Arafat vowed not to capitulate to Israel last night after its forces demolished parts of the building where he was under siege and fired a tank shell that showered him with dust.

But in his first public statement since the siege began on Thursday, the Palestinian leader called for an end to attacks inside Israel, which sent in tanks to encircle his West Bank headquarters after seven people were killed in suicide bombings.

"We are ready for peace but not for capitulation, and we will not give up Jerusalem or a grain of our soil which are guaranteed to us by international law," he said in a written statement released by the Palestinian news agency WAFA.

But the demolition of most of his presidential complex in the city of Ramallah has left him looking weaker than at any point since he returned to the Palestinian territories in 1994 under interim peace deals with Israel.

Israeli guns that roared overnight fell silent by the morning and a fire raged through the roof of one of the wrecked stone buildings in a dusty compound that has been turned into a wasteland by thundering explosions and armoured bulldozers.

Israel demands Arafat hand over 20 wanted Palestinian militants it says are holed up in his headquarters.

Israel's tightest confinement of Arafat since its forces surrounded the former guerrilla leader in 1982 during the Lebanon war raised fears of a new surge of violence that could complicate Washington's plans for possible war on Iraq.

Israel said the aim was to isolate Arafat, not kill him.

"We have said we are not going to harm Mr Arafat personally. We usually stand by our word, unlike Arafat who has yet to meet one of his commitments (to rein in militants)," government spokesman Raanan Gissin said.

Israel holds Arafat responsible for the two suicide bombings which ended a six-week lull in such attacks, charging he has failed to rein in militants during the two-year-old Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation.

"I reiterate my call to the Palestinian people and all our parties to halt any violent attacks inside Israel because (Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon exploits them as a cover to destroy the peace of the brave," Arafat said in his statement.

Despite Israel's promises to leave Arafat unscathed, a Palestinian photographer holed up with him in his main building, one of two still standing after a day-long assault, described a close call late on Friday.

He said Arafat, 73, was showered with dust when a tank shell hit the floor above him but that he was unhurt.

Army bulldozers tore down the bridge linking the two wings of Arafat's building, demolished the main access staircase and destroyed most other structures in the compound on Friday.

On Saturday morning, a mechanical excavator tore holes through the outer walls of Arafat's headquarters that was only three offices away from the first-floor rooms where he had taken refuge before the tank shell hit.

"This is going to affect our offices. It will weaken the already old and weak building," an official inside Arafat's offices said.

Arafat aide Nabil Abu Rdainah said Palestinian officials who were in contact with world leaders were told the United States had pressed Israel to stop shooting in the compound.

"The Americans should be aware that what Israel is doing and Washington's backing for Israel is endangering the interests of the US in the region," he said.

The army confirmed tank fire was directed "near" Arafat's offices, saying it was intended to force the wanted men out.

CNN showed Palestinians coming out with hands up, and being bound and blindfolded by waiting soldiers. It put the number of detainees at 26. It was not clear whether any of them were on Israel's list of wanted militants.

An Israeli flag now flies over rubble at the complex which had been a symbol of Arafat's power in Palestinian areas. He now faces pressure to make security and anti-corruption reforms demanded by Washington.

The siege in the West Bank city of Ramallah drew censure from the European Union and a call for restraint from Washington, which also said Israel had a right to defend itself against suicide bombings.

The United Nations Security Council scheduled an emergency session on the Middle East crisis for Monday, at the behest of council member Syria, diplomats said.

The army said it had razed about 20 buildings or mobile buildings in Arafat's compound, already battered by other Israeli incursions following Palestinian attacks. Witnesses later reported seeing trenches being dug around the compound.

Arafat -- deemed irrelevant by Sharon -- looks powerless to rein in militants and also says he cannot carry out reforms because of Israeli blockades in the West Bank and Gaza. He also has no firepower to resist the army.

One of Arafat's bodyguards in the sandbagged, fortress-like facility was killed by an Israeli marksman early on Friday.

At least 1550 Palestinians and 599 Israelis have been killed in the Palestinian uprising that erupted in September 2000 after talks on statehood stalled.

- REUTERS

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