Explosion near Arafat’s office in West Bank

An explosion erupted in the building adjacent to Yasser Arafat's office in the West Bank town of Ramallah today, according to his aides.

No one was inside the building, which was part of the Palestinian prison at the compound, said Tawfik Tirawi, head of Palestinian intelligence in the West Bank.

"The Israelis have exploded internal explosions inside the building beside us. This building shared a wall with the president's office. If I'm reading the Israelis well, they want to destroy this wall so that they can easily enter the office."

The Israeli army did not immediately comment.