Arafat May Rein in Militants in Exchange for Ending Siege: Report

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, September 23, 2002

Arafat May Rein in Militants in Exchange for Ending Siege: Report

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Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has offered to rein in the armed groups responsible for "terror" attacks in exchange for an end to the siege of his Ramallah compound, the Ha'aretz Daily's website reported Sunday night.

Arafat made the proposal over the weekend to Jordanian and Egyptian officials via a senior Palestinian official, the report said.

According to the report, the proposal is based on the deal that brought to an end the month-long siege of the Church of the Nativity in May, whereby the wanted men in the church were exiled to the Gaza Strip and to several European countries.

However, the Palestinian official who informed the Jordanians and Egyptians of the offer reportedly denied that the proposal included any deal to exile the 19 wanted men who stay in Arafat's compound in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

Instead, he said, it includes an undertaking by Arafat to restrain radical Palestinian groups, including Al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigades, an armed wing of Arafat's Fatah movement, Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and Islamic Jihad (Holy War).

In revenge for two suicide bombing attacks, which left seven people dead, the Israeli troops re-sieged Arafat's Ramallah compound on Thursday, demanding the hand-over of 19 Palestinians wanted by Israel.

After three days of demolitions, the only building that remains largely untouched is the one in which Arafat and his attendants are housing.

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