Mideast Faces Overall War

Israeli troops smashed their way into Yasser Arafat's presidential compound yesterday and battled Palestinian security forces around his headquarters, witnesses said.

A photographer in the West Bank city of Ramallah saw armoured vehicles enter the compound around Arafat's offices, and troops run inside, prompting heavy shooting. Palestinian officials said Arafat's life was in danger.

Israeli forces swept into Ramallah, 15 kilometres north of Jerusalem, after Israel declared Arafat its enemy and vowed to isolate him following the bloodiest Palestinian suicide attack in 18 months of conflict.

The Israeli military action was the toughest against Arafat since the Palestinians launched an uprising against Israeli occupation. It posed the biggest threat to his grip on power since his return to the West Bank from exile in 1994.

"They are firing directly at Arafat's office," said Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo. "They are targeting him. His life is in danger. The situation is very, very dangerous." The Israeli army denied firing at his office.

The raid had no quick success in reducing violence. Several hours later, a woman suicide bomber blew herself up in a Jerusalem supermarket, killing two and wounding at least 20.

Tensions are boiling despite the emergence of an Arab plan for Middle East peace, unanimously endorsed at an Arab summit in Beirut on Thursday and cautiously welcomed by Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres.

World leaders threw their weight behind Arafat yesterday, calling for international action to quell escalating violence in the Middle East.

"This military intervention must end," said Francois Rivasseau, a spokesman for the French Foreign Ministry. France insists that Israeli authorities respect the security and the physical integrity of Arafat.

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Israel's announced intention to isolate Arafat "is not the way that could help find a political solution to the current situation."

The United States withheld comment on the Israeli incursion into Arafat's compound, saying it was "assessing appropriate responses to events in the region."

A State Department spokeswoman said US envoy Anthony Zinni would carry on with his mediation work.

The European Union reaffirmed that Arafat remained a legitimate authority and its interlocutor for peace, while French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine criticized Israel's "attempt to stifle Arafat."

Protesters demonstrated against the raids in Cairo, where the Egyptian foreign minister said the Israeli reprisals were a declaration of war.

Arab summit host Lebanon denounced the Israeli action in Ramallah and accused the Jewish state of trying to topple the Palestinian leader and seize all Palestinian territory.

Palestinian officials said a bullet flew through Arafat's office as shooting erupted around his headquarters, where he has been confined by the army for more than three months.

Speaking after a cabinet meeting that lasted most of the night, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said: "Arafat, who has established a coalition of terror against Israel, is an enemy and, at this point, he will be isolated."

He told a televised news conference Israel intended to remove the "foundations of terror." His defence minister said Israel had no intention of harming Arafat, who it accuses of doing too little to crack down on violence.

Arafat responded defiantly, saying Palestinians would not surrender or give up their fight for an independent state.

"No Palestinian and no one in the Arab nation will surrender or kneel," he said in a telephone interview aired on Palestinian television.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said four Palestinians had been killed by Israeli gunfire, including a woman and an elderly man, and more than 20 had been wounded. A 22-year-old Israeli soldier was shot dead as well, an army spokesman said.

Last night in Beijing, Palestinian Ambassador to China Moustapha Saphariny quoted Arafat as saying that: "We will never surrender. We must call upon international communities to take immediate action to stop Israel's invasion."

He said he heard the gunshots when he called Arafat after the attack.

The president said he hopes Israel abides by the UN resolutions about the Middle East and sits down for talks, according to the ambassador.

(China Daily March 30, 2002)