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Israeli
tanks are only 10 meters away from Arafat’s private office
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RAMALLAH,
September 21 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Israeli tanks were just
10 meters (yards) from Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's office
Saturday, September 21, 2002, after the army destroyed every other
building in his headquarters overnight, detaining 19 of their occupants.
Arab
Israeli member of parliament Ahmed Tibi said Arafat told him he was
"prepared to die a martyr".
The
Palestinian leader, who made a similar vow when his office came under
siege in April, said he would not surrender, Tibi told Agence
France-Presse (AFP).
Thick
black smoke shrouded the office, the sole structure left standing in the
3,000 square meter (30,000 square foot) compound in the West Bank town
of Ramallah that used to be a key symbol of his Palestinian Authority.
Israeli
soldiers in helmets and flak jackets stood around nonchalantly taking
pictures of each other amid the destruction they had wrought inflicted.
The
Israeli army claimed that 19 Palestinians holed up in a reception room
in the compound surrendered after the army demolished an overhead
walkway linking it to Arafat's office. However, chief Palestinian
negotiator Saeb Erakat said those detained “were jailed in a prison
within the compound”, dismissing any “surrender cases”.
The
army also claimed that Israeli troops found some 20 assault rifles as
well as grenades and makeshift bombs in the reception room.
After
occupying the building, Israeli tanks fired several shells and raked the
area around Arafat's office with machine-gun fire, an AFP correspondent
witnessed.
Illuminating
the area with a powerful search light, the Israelis called through a
loudspeaker on those inside to give themselves up.
Israeli
public radio said between 200 and 250 people were still thought to be
holed up with the Palestinian leader, including some 20 wanted by Israel
for alleged links with militant groups, foremost among them West Bank
intelligence chief Tawfiq Tirawi.
However,
Secretary General of the Palestinian Cabinet Ahmed Abdul Rahman
dismissed the Israeli claims as ‘sheer lies’.
“Those
besieged with Arafat are senior Palestinian officials, who regularly
participate in meetings with the Israeli officials. When did they become
wanted terrorists then? The minute Israeli tanks arrived at the
building?” Abdul Rahman charged on al-Jazzera Satellite Channel.
On
the political level, the Arab states submitted a request Friday,
September 20, to convene the United Nations Security Council to discuss
the Israeli forces surrounding of Arafat's Ramallah headquarters. The
request was initiated by the Palestinian representative in the UN,
Nasser al-Kidwa, and presented by Syria, currently a member of the
Security Council, reported Israeli daily Ha’aretz.
In
response, the Security Council held a limited meeting on the issue, and
said that it would hold an open session Monday, September 23. Al-Kidwa
issued a proposal that Israel withdraw its forces from Ramallah and the
West Bank and take up positions prior to the outbreak of the Intifada.
In
a very mild rebuke, Washington, which is usually the first to slam any
Palestinian resistance operation in the strongest terms, urged Israel to
"bear in mind" the impact of its siege of Arafat, but
acknowledged its "right to defend itself and to deal with
security".
