Israel lifts travel ban on Arafat, presses military offensive

JERUSALEM -- Israel lifted Yasser Arafat's three-month confinement in the West Bank town of Ramallah but expanded its military offensive Monday with three large-scale raids, rounding up about 1,100 Palestinians for interrogation. Sixteen Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire.

Heavy fighting broke out Monday night after Palestinian militants fired mortar rounds at a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip, causing no injuries, the army said.

Shortly afterward more than 20 Israeli tanks, supported by helicopters, entered northern Gaza and exchanged heavy fire with Palestinian gunmen on the edge of the Jebaliya refugee camp, Palestinian witnesses said.

Eleven Palestinians were killed and more than 50 were injured, according to doctors at two Palestinian hospitals. Many of the Palestinian casualties were members of the security forces, Palestinian officials said.

With the United States leading an international effort to reduce Mideast tensions, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Arafat could now move around the Palestinian territories, though he'll still need Israeli permission to go abroad.

Troops on the move

At the same time, Israel's army pressed ahead with sweeps of the Palestinian town of Qalqilya and a Bethlehem refugee camp, handcuffing and blindfolding the Palestinian men as it searched for militants in the wake of attacks against Israelis.

Palestinians have described Sharon's recent concessions as cosmetic, saying they are intended to deflect criticism from the tough Israeli military actions.

"There are no positive intentions behind this decision," Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo said of the announcement about Arafat. "What is needed from the Israeli government is to immediately stop its crimes and massacres."

Arafat's virtual house arrest was lifted after Palestinian security forces complied with an Israeli demand and arrested five suspects in the October killing of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi.

Must seek permission

As in the past, Arafat will have to get Israeli approval to travel outside the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Previously it was routinely granted to the globe-trotting Arafat, but will no longer be automatic, said Sharon spokesman Raanan Gissin.

"A lot will depend on the situation at the time. If there are puddles of blood everywhere, it will make a difference," Gissin said.

A big test will come this month. Arafat wants to attend an Arab summit March 26-28 in Beirut, Lebanon, where the Mideast conflict will dominate the agenda.

Saudi Arabia plans to present its much-discussed proposal that calls for Arab countries to make peace with Israel in exchange for its withdrawal from Arab lands captured in the 1967 Mideast war.

Arafat remained in his Ramallah compound all day Monday, and Palestinian officials said they didn't know when he might venture out. He played host to Ron Schlicher, the U.S. consul-general in Jerusalem, and spoke by telephone with Secretary of State Colin Powell, Arafat aides said. The Palestinian leader called on the United States to pressure Israel to halt its military offensive, said Arafat spokesman Nabil Abu Rdeneh.

When he begins moving around the Palestinian territories, Arafat will have to look for new office space.

Israeli helicopters destroyed his seaside headquarters in Gaza City on Sunday in retaliation for a Palestinian suicide bombing in Jerusalem. The Israelis have also pummeled Arafat offices in the West Bank towns of Nablus and Jenin.

During Arafat's extended stay at his compound in Ramallah, where he worked and slept, Israeli tanks were deployed right outside his headquarters and several buildings were hit by Israeli missiles, though not Arafat's offices. The armored vehicles pulled back to long-standing Israeli checkpoints at the edge of Ramallah about two weeks ago.

Sharon has softened some positions ahead of Thursday's arrival of U.S. envoy Anthony Zinni, who is trying to end 17 months of fighting. More than 120 Palestinians and 50 Israelis have been killed in the first 11 days of March, the bloodiest period since the violence erupted in September 2000.

The Israeli leader said he is no longer insisting on a week of complete calm before moving ahead with a U.S. truce plan. Also, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres met senior Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qureia on Monday, though no breakthroughs were reported.

However, many Israelis are demanding tougher action.

Holding signs reading, "Bring down the Palestinian Authority," and "Defeat Arafat," protesters called on Sharon to intensify military operations against Palestinians to prevent attacks against Israelis. Israeli television estimated the crowd at 50,000.

In the West Bank, Israel widened its military offensive against the Palestinians just hours after a Palestinian gunmen fired on a banquet hall in the Israeli port city of Ashdod during a bar mitzvah celebration, a Jewish coming-of-age rite. The assailant's M-16 assault rifle jammed and he was arrested after wounding a 13-year-old boy.

Before dawn, Israeli troops and armored vehicles stormed into Qalqilya and the Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem.

Soldiers announced over bullhorns, in broken Arabic, that all males in Dheisheh between ages 15 and 45 must surrender to Israeli forces. About 500 were detained, stripped to their undershirts, handcuffed and blindfolded, the army and witnesses said.

A similar scene played out in Qalqilya, where about 600 men were held in a schoolyard, soldiers and residents said.

Also in Qalqilya, Israeli helicopters fired missiles at several security installations and an office of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the faction that claimed responsibility for the Zeevi killing, the governor of Qalqilya, Mustafa Malki, said.

Overall, Israeli gunfire killed five Palestinians Monday in the West Bank and Gaza, Palestinian officials and hospitals said.

Israel has raided several Palestinian towns and refugee camps in recent days, saying they have detained militants, seized weapons and uncovered bomb-making labs. The Palestinians say the Israeli actions have caused many civilian casualties and added to the bitter atmosphere.