The Hindu : Siege on Arafat's office stays

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 22, 2002

International

International

Siege on Arafat's office stays

Nablus April 21. Israeli forces pulled out today of the battered West Bank cities of Nablus and most of Ramallah after a three-week occupation that left scores dead, but the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, remained under close guard in his besieged Ramallah headquarters.

Israel, meanwhile, said it was ready to co-operate with a U.N. probe into its operation in the smashed northern West Bank refugee camp of Jenin that the United States called a "human tragedy." But it warned that a U.N. envoy who described Israel's behaviour there as ``morally repugnant'' could be declared persona non grata.

The chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erakat, dismissed the Israeli pullbacks in the West Bank as a charade. "This is a lie for (the) television. It doesn't mean anything," he said. Israel has said it will pull back to a close distance from the towns it is leaving, promising to withdraw further if the situation remains stable.

In Nablus, sporadic machine-gun and tank fire could be heard late yesterday and in the dawn hours of today, when tanks rumbled through the devastated streets heading south towards Jerusalem. Around 200 Israeli tanks and armoured personnel carriers stormed into this major northern West Bank town of more than 100,000 people on April 3 in the first week of Mr. Sharon's sweep through the territory to track down militants. Hospital officials said 75 people have been killed and 450 injured in the major weeklong battle in Nablus that followed. But many more are still missing, feared dead, or possibly arrested by the Israelis.

The first signs of life appeared today morning as cars were visible on the city's streets for the first time in weeks, with the curfew now lifted. Children ventured out and shop owners began lifting the steel shutters covering their storefronts. However, residents reported that Israeli tanks were still visible on the city's eastern outskirts, where several refugee camps ace around the offices.

Troops also remained in Bethlehem, where more than 200 people, including a number of wanted gunmen, are holed up in the Church of the Nativity, where they are rapidly running out of food and water, according to a Palestinian negotiator.

Even as it wound down operations, the army arrested 15 persons in the Kalandia refugee camp between Ramallah and Jerusalem, netting a military official of Mr. Arafat's Fatah movement. — AFP

AP reports from Valencia, Spain:

Keen to boost their role in West Asia, European Union Foreign Ministers will try again to broker a ceasefire between Israelis and Palestinians when they host a gathering of 25 European and Mediterranean countries on Monday and Tuesday.

Despite a boycott by Syria and Lebanon and low expectations of progress, E.U. officials claim the meeting is important if only for bringing top officials from both sides to the same table for the first time in months.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International

Stories in this Section

Chandrika arriving today

`Poverty elimination within reach'

First round witnesses voter apathy

IMF meet marked by peaceful protests

India adamant, says Sattar

Jamaat chief arrested

`Benazir, Sharif will not be allowed to contest'

Protests over Koizumi visit

IRA re-arming itself, says report

ARF meet focus on aviation security

India, Russia looking at joint ventures in aviation

Siege on Arafat's office stays

`India most vulnerable to external threat in Asia'

Indians killed in Oman identified