Arafat refuses to list occupants of besieged base

YASSER ARAFAT yesterday ejected Israel's demand that he provide a list of everyone holed up with him in his besieged office, a Palestinian negotiator said.

The diplomat was speaking after meeting Israeli officials in the first face-to-face contact in the five-day stand-off. After the talks, Israel eased Mr Arafat's isolation for the first time by allowing two Palestinian negotiators to brief him.

The meeting came a day after Israel halted the demolition of Mr Arafat's headquarters, reportedly amid intense US pressure. But Israeli troops maintained their siege of Mr Arafat's office the only building left standing where he is holed up with about 200 aides and security guards.

Meanwhile, in the divided city of Hebron in another part of the West Bank, a Palestinian gunman seriously wounded three Israelis, including a child.

With the blockade in its fifth day, Palestinian protests and international criticism of the Israeli operation intensified.

Israel launched the operation the third against Mr Arafat's compound this year after a Palestinian suicide bomber blew up a Tel Aviv bus, killing himself and six others.

"We are not going to raise the white flag," a senior Arafat aide, Tayeb Abdel Rahim, said. The UN Security Council was to convene yesterday to discuss the operation. European and Arab states demanded that Israel end its siege.

The US ambassador to Israel, Dan Kurtzer, told Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that the assault on Mr Arafat's compound was disrupting preparations for a possible attack on Iraq and was liable to disrupt internal reforms in the Palestinian Authority.

Yesterday's meeting between Israeli military officials and Palestinian Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat took place at Israel's Beit El military base north of Ramallah. Mr Erekat said Mr Arafat rejected Israel's demand that he provide a list of names of those with him.

"We told them (the Israelis) that this is none of their business, and we called for an immediate and unconditional withdrawal from President Arafat's office, and an end to the siege," Mr Erekat said.

He said Mr Arafat's office building was on the verge of collapse. "I will not kneel before Sharon, or will raise a white flag to Sharon," he said Mr Arafat had said.

Israel has said the Palestinian leader is not a target, but demands the surrender of everyone in his office, alleging that suspected terrorists are hiding inside.

"As long as they are not put on trial before their maker or before a judge, we will not end the siege," Sharon adviser Raanan Gissin said.

At first, Israel had demanded surrender of about 20 suspected militants, including Palestinian intelligence chief Tawfik Tirawi. The spiritual leader of Islamic militant group Hamas, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, urged Mr Arafat not to give in.

"My message to Arafat is don't give up. The only thing that Israel understands is force," Sheikh Yassin said. The Palestinians asked for international help. Arafat aide Nabil Abu Rdeneh, speaking by telephone from the surrounded building, said the Security Council must act.

"This is a dangerous and unacceptable situation," Mr Abu Rdeneh said. Israeli military bulldozers pulled out of the compound after nightfall on Sunday.

Mr Arafat's office, where he and his aides are confined to four rooms, is the only building still intact and is surrounded by three layers of barbed wire and partially by a trench.