Israel lifts five-week siege of Arafat HQ
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Your support makes all the difference.Israeli troops lifted a five-week siege of Yasser Arafat's offices last night under a deal brokered by the United States and Britain that saw six wanted Palestinians transferred out of his Ramallah compound.
Dozens of Palestinian security officers in the compound, who had also been imprisoned in the half-wrecked West Bank headquarters, chanted and brandished their rifles in celebration at the withdrawal after a day of negotiations.
The Palestinian prisoners were taken to jail in the West Bank desert town of Jericho, to be held under the watchful eye of British wardens and the highly suspicious, but more distant, gaze of Israel.
Almost simultaneously, Israeli armoured personnel carriers began pulling back. Mr Arafat was expected to remain inside until the pull-out was complete.
The international community hoped the end of the blockade would encourage calm. However, tensions remained high with Mr Arafat calling the Israelis "terrorists" after fire broke out at the besieged Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem amid a fierce gun battle. Some witnesses said the fighting was the worst they had seen.
Meanwhile, the United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, abandoned his efforts to send a fact-finding mission to the Jenin refugee camp, prompting accusations that a backroom deal had been struck.
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