Israel Attacks Arafat's Compound in Swift Response After a Bombing Kills 17
Israeli ground forces attacked Yasir Arafat's compound in Ramallah before dawn today, surrounding his offices with tanks, after 17 Israelis, including 13 soldiers, were killed in a Palestinian suicide attack on a bus in northern Israel.

As Israeli infantry advanced on the compound, Palestinian officials reported heavy machine-gun fire and at least six Palestinian casualties, including a member of the security forces who was killed by a gunshot to the head. They said that Mr. Arafat was unhurt but in danger.

An Israeli armored bulldozer had begun destroying the building housing Mr. Arafat's office, the officials said. But a few hours later, according to Reuters, military authorities said Israel began pulling its troops and armored vehicles out of Mr. Arafat's compound.

After the suicide bombing, early Wednesday, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's aides announced that he still planned to travel to Washington to meet on Monday with President Bush, but would delay his departure by a day, until Saturday. The raid on Mr. Arafat's headquarters threw into doubt the ability of President Bush's envoy, George J. Tenet, the director of central intelligence, to accomplish much on his mission.

Israeli officials said Mr. Arafat was not the target of the raid.

Saeb Erekat, the Palestinians' chief negotiator, said he had spoken to Mr. Arafat by telephone. "President Arafat is a few meters away from the tanks," he said. "His life is in danger." But as the Israelis began their withdrawal, Palestinian officials said Mr. Arafat was unharmed.

As the fighting broke out, muffled explosions could be heard in Jerusalem, more than five miles south. "There is heavy exchange of fire," said Yasir Abed Rabbo, the Palestinian minister of information and culture.

Mr. Arafat's leadership group condemned the bombing and, in an unusual remark, said it had had no advance knowledge of the attack.

But Israel continued to hold Mr. Arafat personally responsible, demanding that he act immediately against Palestinian violence or else make room for a Palestinian leader who would do so.

The bus was packed with soldiers returning to duty. Parts of the bus and of its passengers were strewn across the road and into the surrounding brush as the bus careened into a ditch. The blaze blackened its skeletal remains, filling the air with a stench of burning flesh and rubber.

The attack Wednesday was similar to car bombings against Israeli forces in Lebanon by the Lebanese group Hezbollah, and it represented a shift in Palestinian tactics. Previously, bombers have boarded buses and blown themselves up among the passengers. But bus drivers have grown increasingly vigilant. An advertisement blown off the destroyed bus expressed thanks to bus drivers, along with security forces.

The bombing, which dented the pavement and hurled the remains of the bomber's car 50 yards, took place in front of a prison where many accused Palestinian militants are held by Israel. Green sheet metal torn from the bus lodged in the barbed wire atop the prison's fence.

The conflict has mooted strategic differences among Palestinian factions, which have raged in the open in the past when Mr. Arafat moved to quell militants' actions. Some diplomats here believe Mr. Arafat is no longer strong enough politically to rein in violence without political gains to show for it.

Nabil Aburdeineh, a senior aide to Mr. Arafat, called for deeper American involvement and a timetable for achieving a Palestinian state.

"This is the climate that can stop the attacks," he said. He said he was not seeking to excuse the violence.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/06/international/middleeast/06MIDE.html?pagewanted=all&position=top