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AP. 21 September 2002. Israel plants flag in Palestinian headquarters.
RAMALLAH -- Israel planted its flag in Yasser Arafat's compound
Saturday, and shell bursts shook his offices, chipping away at the
building in an ever-tightening siege designed to make the Palestinian
leader surrender militants or leave into exile.
Soldiers with loudspeakers in the evening shouted to the estimated 200
people holed up in Arafat's offices to evacuate the building -- the last
one still standing in the compound -- or else troops would blow up the
building.
Protesting the siege of Arafat, thousands of Palestinians, many defying
military curfews, took to the streets early Sunday, and four
demonstrators were killed by army fire, doctors said.
The protests, led by Arafat's Fatah movement, erupted in several towns
across the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Two people were killed in Ramallah, one in the town of Nablus and one in
Tulkarem, where gunmen traded fire with Israeli soldiers, Palestinian
hospital officials said.
Earlier Saturday, Arafat appealed to Palestinian militants to halt
attacks on Israel but refused to hand over 20 wanted members of his
entourage.
An Israeli shell overnight destroyed a staircase in the building,
trapping Arafat to four rooms on the second floor of the building. In
the morning, several more shells struck the building, including one that
hit the floor above and dusted Arafat with dirt and debris.
At one point, Israel troops raised a flag on a nearby building in the
compound.
When told of the flag, Arafat got up to take a look from a window, said
Hani al-Hassan, a senior PLO official trapped inside.
Israel, preparing for a long standoff, said it would not withdraw from
the compound before the wanted men surrender -- and left open the
possibility that even then troops might not leave.
Israeli television cited defense officials saying the assault aims to
make conditions so unbearable that the Palestinian leader leaves into
exile.
Raanan Gissin, a Sharon adviser, left open the possibility that troops
would stay on even if the wanted men surrender. "First of all, we want
those people in our hands," he said.
"Then we will consider what action, what further action we will have to
take in order to ensure and defend our citizens."
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ProletarianNews
http://www.utopia2000.org
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