Israelis seize control of east Jerusalem in challenge to Arafat

Israeli vengeance for the massacre of at least 15 people in a Jerusalem pizzeria by a suicide bomber was controlled and deliberate.

Police took over the Palestinians' political headquarters in disputed east Jerusalem, and warplanes flattened a West Bank security post.

The raid of the Orient House, the PLO headquarters in the Holy City, was Israel's most direct challenge yet of Palestinian claims to east Jerusalem as a future capital.

Jerusalem's future was the most contentious issue in peace talks that collapsed earlier this year.

Israel said the takeover of the Orient House and nine Palestinian Authority offices in Abu Dis, a Palestinian district adjoining the city, was a message to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat that he would not make political gains through violence.

Israel said it also wanted to prod Arafat to arrest suspected militants.

Later, three Palestinians were arrested for allegedly preparing a bomb that was confiscated along with explosives in a refugee camp near the West Bank town of Ramallah.

The suspects were led to Palestinian police vehicles, their heads covered. It was not clear if they belonged to any militant organisation.

The police confiscated a large bomb and two containers of TNT that were taken to nearby security headquarters.

Yesterday's suicide bombing, which also injured more than 100, was claimed by the Islamic militant group Hamas, one of Arafat's political rivals, but Israel held Arafat indirectly responsible, saying he has done nothing to prevent attacks on Israelis.

It was not immediately clear how long Israeli forces will remain in the seized buildings. Seven Orient House guards were arrested.

Arafat accused Israel of carrying out a step-by-step plan to recapture Palestinian areas.