RAMALLAH, West Bank, March 30 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – The Israeli occupation army has cut electrical and water facilities from Palestinian President Yasser Arafat’s headquarters in Ramallah, which has been under Israeli siege since Friday Palestinian sources told IslamOnline.

Seven Palestinians were killed and more than 40 wounded in Friday's fighting. Speaking to CNN Arafat said that Israeli occupation troops had destroyed seven of the eight buildings in the compound and fired on his offices with "all their armaments."

"They are using all the American weapons against us, from F-16s (warplanes) to Merkava (tanks) and rockets and bombs and artillery and everything."

Asked whether he thought the Israelis were trying to kill him, he fired back: "What do you expect by shelling us continuously in the last 24 hours. What do you think? Is it by chance?" he said. "This is the real terrorism of the occupation," he said.

Al Jazeera sattelite channel said Saturday that Israeli forces have began an incursion in the Bethlehem area, which falls under Palestinian authorities. The Al Jazeera correspondent said that the incursions included the Beit Jala area west of Bethlehem and continued amidst heavy strikes.

Heavy machinegun fire broke out Saturday in Ramallah. An Agence France-Presse (AFP) reporter said the shooting came from the city centre. Near Lions Square in downtown Ramallah a six-storey building was in flames and thick black smoke rose to the sky.

Automatic weapons fire and at least one grenade explosion were also heard in the West Bank town. Dozens of Israeli tanks and armoured personnel carriers were stationed all over the city, totally under control of the Israeli occupation army for the second day running.

Witnesses said there had been running street battles all night between Palestinians and Israeli troops. There was no immediate toll.

In another development, Qatar’s foreign minister Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani called Israeli foreign minister Shimon   Peres overnight and told him that Israel must halt the assault on the Palestinians warning him of the consequences of escalation, Qatar News Agency (QNA) news agency said Saturday.

Sheikh Hamad said Israel had "to put an end to its assaults against the Palestinian people and leadership," the official agency said.

Sheikh Hamad noted that the peace process had been "moving forward in a positive and encouraging way before (Sharon) came to power" and blamed Israel for the "new degradation" of the situation in the Palestinian territories.  

Hamad also telephoned US assistant secretary of state Richard Armitage Friday night to voice "the concern of Qatar and the OIC ... faced with the savage Israeli aggression," the agency said.

Qatar, which chairs the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference, announced it had closed an Israeli trade office in Doha on the eve of an OIC summit in the Qatari capital in November 2000.

Meanwhile, members of the U.N. Security Council conferred early Saturday behind closed doors, hammering out the wording of a draft resolution that would request Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian city of Ramallah.  

As efforts to produce a text palatable to as many delegations as possible went forward, the American team was in contact with Washington in an effort to solidify its stance on the document's contents.  

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan called on the Palestinian to accept American ceasefire terms and demanded that Israel end its assault in Ramallah.  

"U.S. Special Envoy (Anthony) Zinni has put forward ceasefire proposals that should be accepted by the Palestinians," Annan told the public meeting of the Security Council.

"Israel should halt its assault on the Palestinian Authority. Destroying the Palestinian Authority will not bring Israel closer to peace."

On Friday, the U.S. stood firm behind its ally Israel, demanding anew that Arafat act against “terrorist violence”.  

As the United States stood by Israel, Arab and European states criticized Israel on Friday and mounted a diplomatic drive to cut short its military drive against the Palestinians.  

Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, the architect of the Arab peace plan, struck out at Sharon and defended his peace plan on Saudi television.

Sharon "has nothing. He has no brain, no humanity, no manners but his day will come," Abdullah said.

"No doubt he wants to disrupt the initiative but it will hold despite him."

Iran called the incursion a "new act of Israeli state terrorism" and demonstrations in support of Arafat were held in Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates as well as on the Gaza Strip.

Egypt filed a protest with Israel's ambassador to Cairo against the operation in Ramallah, its foreign ministry said in a statement.

Mubarak also called on the international community, including the United States, to intervene.

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov expressed "extreme concern" over the spiraling bloodshed.

"We consider that the policy of isolating Arafat is not the way to find a way out of this situation. We think that through dialogue ... we should look for a political solution to this crisis," he added.

French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine said he understood Israel's anger but told French radio that "it is not by asphyxiating Arafat that a solution will be found."

France, Switzerland, Belgium and Austria all called on Israel not to harm Arafat, an assurance given by the Israelis. Germany called on both sides to pull back from the brink, while Britain also urged restraint.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana spoke with both Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Arafat. "We are not going to resolve the Palestinian conflict by military action," an EU spokeswoman said.

On Friday, an Israeli government spokesman Avi Pavsner told Swiss television station TSR that Israel is hoping to find a new generation of Palestinian leaders who are more “reasonable” and “moderate” than Yasser Arafat.  

Pavsner said Arafat had always been a "warrior". "Mr. Arafat, who has never stopped wearing his military uniform, has a revolver next to him on the table. It is a symbolic act, to show that he is a warrior," said Pavsner.