Mubarak, Arafat Mull Israeli Military Escalation Over Phone

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, March 30, 2002

Mubarak, Arafat Mull Israeli Military Escalation Over Phone

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Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Friday had a phone talk on the latest Israeli military escalation in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Egypt's official MENA news agency said.

"The two leaders discussed the grave situation in the Palestinian lands, the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian National Authority and Mubarak's contacts on the international front," MENA said.

Mubarak has been following up the situation in Ramallah and maintaining contacts with world leaders in an effort to calm down the tense situation there, MENA added.Israeli tanks rolled into theWest Bank city of Ramallah early Friday morning and broke into Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's headquarters in the town in the afternoon, after destroying fences around the compound and firing shells at the building next door to Arafat's main offices.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who had called Arafat an "enemy," was reportedly said that Israel's military operation against Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah would last for at least several weeks.

The Israeli incursion into Ramallah came after the Israeli cabinet decided earlier Friday morning to launch massive military operations against the Palestinians in retaliation for a suicide bombing in the northern Israeli seaside town of Netanya Wednesday evening, in which 21 people were killed.

The Israeli cabinet also decided to mobilize over 10,000 reservists for the military operations against the Palestinians.

Facing the ferocious Israeli attacks, Arafat said the Palestinians will never give up their fight for an independent state, saying that he was ready to be a martyr.

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