Israeli troops blow up three buildings in Arafat's compound after suicide bombing

<br>RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) _ Israeli soldiers blew up three buildings in Yasser Arafat's compound Friday, rocking the office where he was holed up and sending huge clouds of smoke into the air. The

Friday, September 20th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) _ Israeli soldiers blew up three buildings in Yasser Arafat's compound Friday, rocking the office where he was holed up and sending huge clouds of smoke into the air. The assault with tanks and bulldozers came in retaliation for a Tel Aviv bus bombing that killed six people.

Israel's defense minister said he wanted to isolate the Palestinian leader, but not harm or expel him. Bulldozers began digging a deep trench near Arafat's office building, one of the last structures to remain standing in the sprawling complex.

Throughout the night, troops using loudspeakers called on wanted men in the compound to surrender. In all, 20 men gave themselves up, walking in single file with their arms raised, and were taken into custody. However, not among them were several senior Palestinian officials _ including the intelligence chief in the West Bank _ sought by Israel for involvement in attacks on Israelis.

Israeli snipers also killed an Arafat bodyguard.

In the Gaza Strip, a 15-year-old Palestinian boy, a 25-year-old woman and a mentally handicapped man were killed in Israeli incursions and a clash between soldiers and stone-throwers.

Outlining Israel's objectives in raiding Arafat's compound, Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said troops would not leave until all the wanted men had surrendered, but would not use force to arrest them. ``In terms of the chairman,'' Ben-Eliezer said, referring to Arafat, ``we have no intention of expelling him or firing at him. We want to isolate him.''

Washington cautioned Israel not to go to far with its response.

``Significant, quiet progress had been made behind the scenes in the Palestinian Authority and there had been a sustained period of quiet without homicide bombings in Israel,'' White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said Friday.

Yet Arafat's aides said he was in grave danger, noting that Arafat's office shook badly with one of the explosions. ``They (soldiers) continue blowing up buildings around us,'' said adviser Nabil Abu Rdeneh.

Despite the Israeli assault, the third since March, Arafat was in relatively good spirits, those around him said. He was kept awake at night by the sound of shooting and bulldozers toppling walls, but performed the Friday prayer _ the highlight of the Muslim week _ in his office before taking an afternoon nap. Water and electricity had not been cut, unlike in earlier raids.

Throughout the day, Arafat spoke to several Arab leaders, who told him they would seek an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council to discuss a demand for an immediate Israeli withdrawal, said Abu Rdeneh.

The latest strikes came after a rare emergency session of the Israeli Cabinet late Thursday. Ministers blamed Arafat for the Tel Aviv bombing, saying he established a ``coalition of terror.''

It was not immediately clear how long Arafat would remain under siege. In March and April, he was confined to several rooms in his office building for 34 days. In June, troops reoccupied Ramallah and most other West Bank towns, and Arafat has not ventured from his compound since then, even on days when a military curfew was lifted.

In Thursday's bombing, a suicide bomber detonated nail-studded explosives on a crowded bus in a shopping and business district in downtown Tel Aviv, killing six people in addition to himself, and wounding about 50. Among the victims was Jonathan Jesner, a 19-year-old Jewish seminary student from Scotland, who was critically wounded in the blast and died of his injuries Friday. Jesner was buried in Jerusalem on Friday.

The Islamic militant group Hamas claimed responsibility for the bombing in a leaflet sent to the Arab satellite TV station Al Jazeera. Hamas said the bus bombing was the third in a series of planned attacks against Israeli targets as revenge for Israeli military strikes.

Several hours after the Tel Aviv bombing, Israeli tanks and bulldozers drove into Arafat's compound in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

Bulldozers leveled several trailers used by security guards, and on Friday morning troops blew up three buildings _ two of them already partially damaged in previous raids and one under construction. All three buildings had been used by Arafat's security forces.

Also Friday, snipers killed an Arafat bodyguard, who was standing in a hall were the Palestinian leader usually receives large delegations. A second Palestinian man was seriously wounded by army fire.

Twenty Palestinians in the compound surrendered to Israeli troops.

Israel had demanded that 19 wanted men give themselves up, including the West Bank intelligence chief, Tawfik Tirawi, and Mahmoud Damra, the head of Arafat's elite bodyguard unit Force 17 in Ramallah. Both men have been accused by Israel of involvement in attacks on Israelis. Tirawi and Damra were not among those who surrendered, and it was not clear how many of those who did were wanted.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was quoted as saying Tirawi would be given a fair trial in Israel. Palestinian officials said U.S officials urged them to hand over 19 men on Israel's wanted list.

In Gaza City early Friday, Israeli forces entered a mixed industrial-residential neighborhood and blew up three metal workshops, witnesses said. Two Palestinians were killed and nearby houses were damaged by the explosions. Israeli tanks withdrew from the area before daybreak, residents said.

Near the town of Rafah, on the Egyptian border, two soldiers were hurt, one moderately and one lightly when an explosion went off near their armored personnel carrier, the army said. Soldiers trying to salvage the vehicle were attacked by stone-throwers and responded with gunfire, killing a 15-year-old boy and wounding nine other people, hospital officials said.

Meanwhile, at the sidelines of a world mayor's conference in Athens, a Palestinian and two Israeli mayors decided to sit down and talk about peace not as opposing parties but as ``human beings.''