A Palestinian was shot dead and two were wounded as more than 70 Israeli tanks and troops pushed towards the centre of Ramallah and encircled the West Bank headquarters of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for the second time in a week, Palestinian security sources said on Monday.
The Palestinian, from the Jenin region, was killed during clashes between Palestinian gunmen and Israeli troops in Ramallah’s al-Amari refugee camp, a Palestinian Red Crescent official said.
Two others were wounded during the exchange of fire, and one was taken away by the Israelis, the official said.
Security sources and witnesses initially said at least 15 tanks, accompanied by two Apache helicopters, began moving into the north
of the city around 3:30am (0030 GMT), quickly followed by troops moving into the east and the south of the city.
An unspecified number of tanks moved into position around Arafat’s compound for the second time within a week, but there were no initial reports of firing, the sources said.
Shortly after the army surrounded the compound, a huge number of tanks that had been encircling the city pushed their way in, bringing the number of tanks to more than 70, they said.
Just hours into the incursion, as day began to break, Israeli troops imposed a curfew on the city, warning residents by loudspeaker that anyone leaving their house would be shot.
As heavy clashes continued throughout Ramallah and the
neighbouring al-Bireh area, the army began searching houses in Sharafa, an eastern district close to the al-Amari refugee camp, witnesses and security forces said.
Although there was calm around Arafat’s besieged compound, local witnesses said there had been a loud blast in the area close to 6am (0300 GMT).
It was not initially clear what caused the blast, or what damage had been caused by it, security sources said.
An Israeli military source stressed that the army had not entered Arafat’s compound and was only surrounding it as a preventative measure.
”We have not entered the Muqata, we have only encircled it in order to prevent terrorists from escaping there,” the source stressed.
”If terrorists enter the Muqata we will not be able to arrest them,” the source said.
As the army entered the east of the city and pushed into the al-Amari refugee camp, heavy clashes broke out between Palestinian gunmen and special Israeli army units, Palestinian security sources said.
Army units also entered from the southern Beitunia area, they added.
An Israeli army representative confirmed the incursion, saying both the army and border police officers had been operating in Ramallah since the early hours, carrying out searches and arrests.
”Forces have been operating in the city since the early hours, carrying out searches and arrests. Until now, nine wanted Palestinians have been arrested and weapons have been seized,” she said.
During the operation, an officer had been lightly injured by Palestinian fire near the al-Amari refugee camp, she said.
In parallel with the Ramallah operation, the army had also entered a number of Palestinian towns and villages, carrying out arrests.
In Beit Awa village, west of Hebron, two Palestinians suspected of ”terror activity” were arrested, while in Azun east of Qalqilya one Palestinian was seized, and in Zeita, north of Tulkarem, six wanted Palestinians were captured, the representative added.
The Ramallah incursion comes just four days after troops stormed up to Arafat’s headquarters, killing one of his bodyguards and wounding six others in a hit-and-run strike.
The latest military operation comes just after Arafat named a new, streamlined Cabinet and hours before Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was to meet US President George Bush in Washington.
The Israeli army statement said the troops would remain in Ramallah for a ”limited time” and had arrested seven terrorist suspects overnight.
Also, soldiers detained several suspects in night time raids in other parts of the West Bank, the statement said. Israeli incursions are an almost daily affair. On Sunday, troops entered the town of Tulkarem.
Arafat’s new Cabinet includes a new minister to oversee the security forces. The move follows strong calls for reform by ordinary Palestinians and Western governments.
Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo said that presidential and parliamentary elections will be held in January and municipal elections this fall.
Arafat slimmed down his Cabinet from 31 to 21 ministers, and brought in several new faces. ”It will be a smaller, more effective Cabinet,” said Nabil Shaath, planning minister in both the old and new Cabinet.
In the most important change, Arafat named Abdel Razak Yehiyeh (73) as interior minister – a position that ”will be responsible for all the security issues inside the Palestinian territories (and) supervise all the security establishments,” according to Abed Rabbo.
Arafat has come under intense pressure from the United States and Israel to revamp the security forces to prevent attacks against Israel.
Israeli Defence Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer reacted sceptically to the naming of Yehiyeh, saying it signified Arafat was not serious about reform.
”This man represents the very old generation. So once again we have a commitment to the past and not to the future,” Ben-Eliezer said.
CIA director George Tenet met Arafat last week at his West Bank headquarters in Ramallah to press for the restructuring of the multiple, overlapping security agencies.
Yehiyeh, a former guerrilla commander, has not held any high-profile positions recently, and his selection bypasses more prominent figures.
”Most Israelis will remember that this weekend that a young Israeli and his pregnant wife were murdered,” said Israeli government representative Dore Gold, referring to a Palestinian gunfire attack at a Jewish settlement. ”Therefore, when they hear about this Cabinet reshuffling, they are going to see mostly smoke and mirrors and they are not going to be holding their breath.”
Dogged by accusations of widespread corruption in his government, Arafat named a new finance minister, Salem Fayad. He has worked in Jerusalem for the International Monetary Fund in recent years, and has called for greater financial accountability in the Palestinian government.
Many Palestinians cite new elections as the most important reform. Since the Palestinian Authority was formed in 1994, elections have been held only once, in 1996.
Meanwhile, in the Gaza Strip, powerful explosion rocked the Jebaliya refugee camp early on Monday, destroying one building and damaging nearby homes, witnesses said.
At least 25 people were injured, including three in critical condition, hospital officials said. Witnesses said the blast came from inside the building, but Palestinian officials would not comment on the cause.
In other developments on Sunday, Palestinian police arrested a leader of the militant group Islamic Jihad, which took responsibility for a suicide attack last week in which 17 Israelis were killed.
Sheik Abdullah Shami was arrested in his neighbourhood in Gaza City, group officials said. Arafat’s leadership issued orders to arrest Islamic Jihad members after the Wednesday bombing.
In an article in the New York Times, Sharon wrote that Israel was prepared to resume negotiations if Palestinian attacks stop, though he doesn’t believe a final settlement could be reached now.
”The only serious option … is one based on a long-term interim agreement that sets aside for the future issues that cannot be bridged at present,” Sharon wrote. The Palestinians reject the idea of an interim accord.
Bush also met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak this weekend, part of a flurry of diplomatic contacts aimed at ending 20 months of Middle East violence and restarting peace talks. Several months ago the Arab League adopted a Saudi proposal for peace with Israel in exchange for a return of all occupied lands.
But Sharon, citing Israel’s security concerns, said Israel would not pull out of all the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which it captured in the 1967 Middle East war, or redivide Jerusalem. ”Israel will not return to the vulnerable 1967 armistice lines,” he wrote.
The Palestinians want the West Bank and Gaza for their future state, with a capital in east Jerusalem. – Sapa-AP, AFP