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| Middle East |
| Israelis say Yasser could take a bullet by accident... |
| 2002-03-31 |
Israeli soldiers encircling the headquarters of the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, traded fire with his defenders yesterday as Israel defied a United Nations call to lift the siege. Israeli military commanders warned that Mr Arafat's life could be at risk, in spite of orders not to hurt him. They could not rule out Mr Arafat's being harmed unintentionally by a stray bullet. Mr Arafat's spokesman, Nabil Abu Rdainah, told CNN that Israeli forces were trying to punch their way into a new area of the battered compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah. "They tried several times to storm the western gate," he said from inside the compound. "The confrontations are still going on. A lot of people are injured. They are denying ambulances to go out. The situation is very dangerous." A defiant Mr Arafat said he had "one choice, to be a martyr. We will never surrender. We are in complete siege." You heard it here... er, there first. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |