Military

DATE=05/01/02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=ISRAEL / PALESTINIANS (L-2nd UPDATE)

NUMBER=2-289326

BYLINE=MEREDITH BUEL

DATELINE=JERUSALEM

CONTENT=

VOICE AT:

/// EDS: Update version on Israeli troops pull out of Mr. Arafat's headquarters is coming soon ///

INTRO: The Israeli military siege of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah appears to be coming to an end. Correspondent Meredith Buel has details from Jerusalem.

TEXT: A convoy of U-S and British diplomatic vehicles has left Mr. Arafat's Ramallah compound, transferring six men wanted by Israel to a Palestinian prison in Jericho.

U-S and British wardens in Jericho will monitor their confinement.

The convoy traveled in single file as it left Mr. Arafat's battered headquarters, which is littered with crushed cars and scorched buildings.

Palestinians inside the compound say the six men were transported in separate vehicles.

The transfer of the men is a critical component of an agreement to lift the Israeli siege of the Palestinian leader.

Under the U-S brokered deal, Israeli troops and tanks will now leave Ramallah and soldiers have been seen packing their gear in preparation for the departure.

Chairman Arafat has been under virtual house arrest since last December.

Four of the prisoners being transferred have been convicted by a Palestinian military court for the assassination of an Israeli cabinet minister last October.

The fifth is the political leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (P-F-L-P), the group which has claimed responsibility for the murder.

The sixth man is a high-ranking Palestinian official accused by Israel of bankrolling a shipload of weapons seized by Israeli naval commandos earlier this year.

The end of Mr. Arafat's confinement will resolve one of several complicated confrontations in the Middle East conflict, but daily violence continues to make moves toward a cease-fire more difficult.

Palestinians say at least five people have been killed, including a young girl, in clashes between militants and Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army says the violence in Gaza began when a roadside bomb was detonated near an Israeli armored vehicle.

The Israeli military says soldiers spotted the Palestinians responsible for setting off the bomb and killed one of them.

Palestinian witnesses say exchanges of fire killed four other people, including the girl.

Two more Palestinians have emerged from the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, including one who was wounded by Israeli soldiers surrounding the basilica.

Up to 200 people, including Palestinian gunmen, Christian clerics and other civilians, remain in the shrine, which is built over the place where tradition says Jesus was born.

Food and water are said to be in short supply and sanitary conditions inside the church are very poor. (Signed)

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