- RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters)
- Israel moved tanks and troops out of Yasser Arafat's compound on Sunday
after saying it would lift its 10-day-old siege of the Palestinian leader's
headquarters under pressure from Washington.
-
- A pale-looking Arafat, his hands and lips trembling,
emerged from the siege to denounce the Israeli withdrawal as "cosmetic"
after Israel said its troops would redeploy close enough to stop any escape
of 50 wanted militants it said were in the compound.
-
- "This is not withdrawal. This is only moving a few
meters away. They are trying to deceive the world," Arafat told reporters.
-
- Witnesses saw tanks, bulldozers and armored troop carriers
rumble out of the compound, mostly turned to rubble by Israeli bulldozers
when the siege began after seven people were killed in two Palestinian
suicide bombings.
-
- After the Israeli troops moved out, Arafat's bodyguards
peered out of the windows of what was left of his offices.
-
- "We defeated the Israelis," shouted one, waving
his gun.
-
- It was not clear how far the troops would withdraw from
the compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah, which has been occupied
by Israel since June after a string of suicide attacks.
-
- Israeli officials said the withdrawal was still under
way and had not been completed. At least one army vehicle was seen near
the perimeter of the compound.
-
- "The Israeli army will distance its troops from
the Muqata (Arafat's) compound and will be deployed in such a way that
the wanted terrorists will not be allowed to leave freely," said Raanan
Gissin, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's spokesman.
-
- "At the same time, anyone who is not involved can
move about without hindrance," Gissin said. He said the withdrawal
was expected to be completed late on Sunday.
-
- Israel Radio said the troops would withdraw to lookout
points some distance away.
-
- Palestinian residents and security officials ran into
the compound after the forces left and raised the Palestinian flag over
a partly demolished building in the compound. Those who had been trapped
in the compound were unkempt and unshaven.
-
- The pullback was an embarrassing climbdown by Israel,
which had vowed to end the siege only when the suspected militants were
caught. The about-face followed a message sent by President Bush to Sharon
demanding a speedy end to the siege.
-
- The Washington Post newspaper, citing diplomats and other
sources, said the Bush administration told Sharon the siege of Arafat was
affecting U.S. Iraq policy.
-
- SOOTHE U.S. ANGER
-
- The Palestinian Authority issued a statement calling
the pullback a "fake withdrawal" that violated last week's United
Nations Security Council resolution to end the siege.
-
- "They must get out of our cities, towns and villages
in compliance with the Security Council (resolution) and in compliance
with all the world," said acting Palestinian cabinet minister Nabil
Shaath.
-
- As Israeli tanks rumbled out of Arafat's compound, Sharon
boarded a plane for Moscow where he will hold talks with senior Russian
officials on issues including Israeli concerns that Iraq was amassing weapons
of mass destruction.
-
- Gissin said the government pledged "to do whatever
it can in order to accommodate and help the United States in its continued
campaign against international terrorists."
-
- Sharon sent his chief of staff, Dov Weisglass, to Washington
to try to smooth over tension at the weekend.
-
- It was not immediately clear whether Arafat would be
allowed to travel freely outside his compound, although the Palestinian
leader has not left his headquarters since June.
-
- "We are removing our forces from their present location
to a new location. It is likely that they won't be visible and we will
be using other methods to ensure that those who are not involved in terrorism
can move about freely," Gissin said.
-
- The blockade has shored up Arafat's slumping popularity
and stalled Palestinian reforms key to resuming peace diplomacy.
-
- It caused tension within Sharon's coalition where the
center-left Labour Party maintains an uneasy partnership with right-wing
and religious parties.
-
- "We went into the Muqata for no reason and we have
been bogged down by it," said Haim Ramon, a leading Labour politician
and head of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
-
- Senior Arafat aide Nabil Abu Rdainah called on Israel
to follow its withdrawal from around Arafat's compound with a troop pullout
to positions held before the Palestinians launched an uprising against
occupation two years ago after peace treaty talks deadlocked.
-
- At least 1,572 Palestinians and 601 Israelis have been
killed in the violence. (Additional reporting by Mohammad Assadi)
|