Jerusalem, Sept 20: Israel's defense minister said today that he has no intention of expelling Yasser Arafat, who is under siege by Israeli troops.
Israeli tanks and bulldozers entered Arafat's compound in the West Bank town of Ramallah late yesterday, just hours after a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up on a Tel Aviv bus, killing himself, five Israelis and a student from Glasgow. In the raid on the compound, Israeli troops blew up three buildings, including two that had already been partially demolished in previous assaults and one that was under construction. Soldiers demanded that 19 wanted Palestinians in the compound, including the West Bank intelligence chief, surrender. Describing the operation in a radio call-in show, defense minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said that the plan was to seal off the area around Arafat. Regarding the wanted men, the minister said that ``we are not planning to use weapons or force, but plan to maintain the pressure so that everyone who is in there will come out.''
“In terms of the chairman,'' Ben-Eliezer told Israel army radio, referring to Arafat, “We have no intention of firing at him. We want to isolate him.”

Bureau Report