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Israel Defends Siege on Palestinian City of Ramallah
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office and senior army officials Monday defended the army's tightened blockade of the West Bank town of Ramallah, saying the move was aimed at heading off a planned terrorist attack.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Sunday stepped up its siege on Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) in the West Bank, erecting new, armored checkpoints to the trenches and ramparts it already built there to block the roads in and out of the city.
"The IDF tightened its closure over Ramallah in the wake of specific information on a terrorist attack from within the city," the prime minister's office said in a statement.
"The Prime Minister's policy is to ease (restrictions) wherever possible, at the same time taking action in areas in which terrorist activity is taking place," the statement said.
Israel Radio quoted an unnamed senior security official as disclosing that a number of those suspected of involvement in the planned attack were arrested in an operation which the official said was made possible by the closure clamped on the city.
Israel has sealed off the West Bank and Gaza since the start of the Palestinian uprising late last September, citing security reasons.
The Palestinians view the blockade as collective punishment, which barred more than 100,000 Palestinians from work in Israel and strangled their economy.
Israel's policy of sealing off Palestinian areas has come under sharp criticism from the international community.
Sharon's office released its statement shortly before talks between PNA Chairman Yasser Arafat and a visiting European Union delegation, which arrived Monday to hold talks with the Palestinian and Israeli leaders.
The talks are expected to focus on the severe economic crisis facing the Palestinians due to Israeli closure and its refusal to transfer tax money it owed to the PNA.
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