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Arafat Under Siege, Yassin Under House Arrest
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| Besieged
Arafat places Yassin under house arrest.
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RAMALLAH,
June 24 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Israeli occupation forces,
backed by dozens of tanks, reoccupied the West Bank city of Ramallah
early Monday, June 24, sealing off Palestinian President Yasser
Arafat's compound.
Meanwhile,
Palestinian security officers, often criticized by Israel for not
doing enough to halt resistance operations, put the spiritual leader
of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, Ahmad Yassin, under house
arrest in Gaza City.
Palestinian
security sources said some 50-60 tanks, armored personnel carriers and
other vehicles rolled into Ramallah from the north, east and
southeast, with at least two helicopter gun ships in support, Agence
France-Presse (AFP) reported.
The
Israelis imposed a curfew on Ramallah, the Al-Amari refugee camp and
the neighboring town of Al-Bireh. About 20 tanks and armored personnel
carriers also patrolled the suburb of Beitunia, which they entered
four days ago.
Three
tanks and a military jeep pushed their way into Arafat's already
battered compound as the Israelis began sealing off access roads in
their third major incursion here this month, the security sources
said.
The
Israelis control six of eight major West Bank towns. They had already
seized Jenin, Qalqilya, Tulkarem, Bethlehem and Nablus.
The
Israeli army said in a statement that troops and border police
"launched operations in Ramallah tonight, taking control of the
strategic points of the city and imposing a curfew."
A
Palestinian official inside Arafat's headquarters confirmed the entry
of Israeli tanks in the compound. "We heard the sound of the
tanks entering, but we don't know where they are exactly," he
told AFP by phone.
An
Israeli bulldozer began piling up large rocks and rubble in order to
seal off the five access roads leading to the compound, security
sources said.
There
were no reports of clashes or shooting as the troops moved into the
city, but two large explosions were heard which were later found to be
shells fired by Israeli helicopter gunships.
One
of them hit the Al-Amari camp, landing in the middle of a road, while
it was not clear where the second landed. No casualties were reported.
The
sources said Israeli troops stormed the house of Jihad Tumaleh, the
head of Arafat's Fatah group in the Al-Amari refugee camp, but did not
find him. Two unidentified Palestinians were arrested near Arafat's
compound.
A
bulldozer was seen entering the city from the south-east, security
sources said. Earlier, an Israeli bulldozer had cleared one of the
main roads leading into the city from the north, in an area known as
City Inn.
Entrance
to the city via this route had been blocked by large rocks and rubble
for nearly 21 months since the outbreak of the Intifada, or
Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation, in September 2000.
Arafat's
compound had already been devastated by a five-week Israeli siege that
ended May 2, as well as a brief but ferocious tank assault June 6 and
a three-day re-occupation four days later.
In
Gaza, meanwhile, Palestinian police and security officers surrounded
the house of Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, in the western part of Gaza City,
placing him under house arrest, a police official said.
Hamas
officials confirmed Sheikh Yassin's home was surrounded, but said they
had not been told he was under house arrest. Senior Hamas leader
Ismail Haniya also said more than 10 Hamas members had been arrested.
Abed
Yassin, 30, one of the sheikh's sons who lives with him, confirmed
that his father was unaware that he had been put under house arrest.
"There
is a large number of police and security officers surrounding our
home, but no one has entered the house or told us about the house
arrest," he told AFP by phone.
The
last time Sheikh Yassin was put under house arrest was in December.
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