SAUDI Arabia’s top cleric warned more than two million pilgrims yesterday against enemies of Islam, saying Muslims cannot be defeated by military might as long as they remain steadfast in their faith.

Almost two million Muslim pilgrims converged on Mount Arafat today for a solemn prayer ritual that is the highlight of the hajj, a centuries-old pilgrimage to the birthplace of Islam.

A SUICIDE bomber drove his car alongside a bus in northern Israel during the afternoon rush-hour yesterday, detonated his deadly cargo and killed at least 13 people as the entire bus was engulfed in flames.

The Israeli government today decided to withdraw its forces from inside Yasser Arafat’s compound, but the siege will continue from a short distance away, Israeli radios reported.

Israeli forces armed with tanks and helicopters clashed with Palestinians in Gaza before daybreak today, killing nine Palestinians in the bloodiest operation there in two months.

Thousands of Palestinians, many defying military curfews, poured into West Bank and Gaza streets today to protest Israel’s assault on Yasser Arafat’s headquarters, and four demonstrators were killed by army fire.

Israeli troops pulled out of Yasser Arafat’s West Bank headquarters complex today, hours after smashing their way in, eyewitnesses said.

Yasser Arafat today presented a plan for reforming his security services to visiting CIA chief George Tenet, with the Palestinian leader proposing to halve their number and tighten supervision.

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators moved into what could be the final phase of talks aimed at breaking the month-old deadlock at one of Christianity’s holiest shrines today, as Orthodox Christians marked their Easter holiday.

Yasser Arafat's compound has been released from the Israeli siege that has kept the Palestinian leader confined for five months.

Israeli forces began withdrawing from Yasser Arafat’s compound in Ramallah tonight, as six Palestinians arrived in a convoy at a prison in the West Bank desert oasis of Jericho.

A Palestinian gunman opened fire at a Tel Aviv restaurant early today, killing three people and wounding 31, four seriously, before he was shot dead, police said, the latest in a spiral of attacks and counterattacks by Palestinians and Israeli forces.

Israeli warplanes have bombed Palestinian headquarters in Bethlehem as part of a day-long series of reprisals for the latest Palestinian attacks.

Two Palestinian gunmen sprang from a car and sprayed automatic gunfire at Israelis outside a military base today, killing two women soldiers and seriously wounding five others before they were shot dead by the troops.

Israeli helicopters today hovered near Arafat’s headquarters in Gaza City, but eventually left without firing.