Jerusalem, Oct 01: Israeli troops arrested 32 Palestinians across the West Bank and took up positions facing Yasser Arafat's headquarters, keeping up pressure despite ending a siege of the Palestinian leadership. The army confirmed on Tuesday that 32 Palestinians had been arrested overnight and said 23 of them were "wanted suspects" in attacks on Israel.

Many of them were captured in Jenin in the far northern part of the West Bank.

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By dawn, Israeli forces occupied three buildings near Arafat's headquarters, which they had abandoned on Sunday following a 10-day siege that destroyed most of the structures surrounding the Palestinian leader's office.

Troops were posted on the roof of the eight-story Palestinian Ministry of Culture building, about 500 meters from Arafat's office, and on the roof of another eight-story building still under construction. They were also in a nearby house. The army had no immediate comment on the deployment.

Early on Tuesday, a Palestinian was killed by tank fire in Gaza after militants threw grenades at Israeli forces just outside the Gaza Strip, witnesses said. The man, 50, was a guard at a garage.

Israeli forces looking for the attackers lit the sky with flares and fired machine guns.

The Islamic Jihad, claiming responsibility, said the attackers returned safely. Bureau Report