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Israel`s Deputy PM says no harm will come to Arafat in siege
Washington, Sept 22: Israel, with its siege of Yasser Arafat`s headquarters in Ramallah, is seeking to bring terror suspects `to justice,` Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Nathan Sharansky has said, insisting Israeli troops would not harm Arafat.
Washington, Sept 22: Israel, with its siege of Yasser Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah, is seeking to bring terror suspects "to justice," Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Nathan Sharansky has said, insisting Israeli troops would not harm Arafat.
"We are in the middle of a war against terror," in which isolating Arafat was deemed the "modest" option, Sharansky said in a telephone interview with fox news late yesterday.
Israeli forces moved into Arafat's compound and destroyed all but one building - his headquarters - as a means "to bring these people to justice," Sharansky said.
However, "nothing" will be done to harm Arafat, he told a TV channel.
"We want only to stop his involvement in terrorist activity," he said.
The suspects will be questioned once they emerge from the compound, he said.
Israeli troops threatened to blow up the Palestinian leadership's headquarters late yesterday and told 250 people trapped inside to leave before they dynamite the offices, a correspondent at the scene said.
Tanks stood 10 metres from Arafat's office at the end of the second full day of a standoff with the Jewish state, which is demanding Arafat hand over 20 "terror" suspects, some of whom count among his top lieutenants.
The army called on Palestinian residents in the area to evacuate their homes, the correspondent said.
Three loud explosions caused damage to Arafat's office earlier in the day as Israeli sappers demolished a nearby interior ministry block. Bureau Report
Israeli forces moved into Arafat's compound and destroyed all but one building - his headquarters - as a means "to bring these people to justice," Sharansky said.
However, "nothing" will be done to harm Arafat, he told a TV channel.
"We want only to stop his involvement in terrorist activity," he said.
The suspects will be questioned once they emerge from the compound, he said.
Israeli troops threatened to blow up the Palestinian leadership's headquarters late yesterday and told 250 people trapped inside to leave before they dynamite the offices, a correspondent at the scene said.
Tanks stood 10 metres from Arafat's office at the end of the second full day of a standoff with the Jewish state, which is demanding Arafat hand over 20 "terror" suspects, some of whom count among his top lieutenants.
The army called on Palestinian residents in the area to evacuate their homes, the correspondent said.
Three loud explosions caused damage to Arafat's office earlier in the day as Israeli sappers demolished a nearby interior ministry block. Bureau Report