Militants leave Arafat compound

By Alan Johnston
BBC News, Jerusalem

Arafat is a virtual prisoner in his compound

About 20 Palestinian militants who are wanted by Israel have been forced to leave the headquarters of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

The group of men had been taking refuge in the building, in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

There has been mounting pressure in recent weeks from the Israelis for the wanted men to be handed over.

There were apparently concerns that their presence might give the Israelis a reason to storm Mr Arafat's compound.

According to a source in the headquarters, Mr Arafat's staff told the men that they could no longer use the building as a refuge.

They slipped out into the streets of Ramallah in the early hours of Thursday and they will no doubt now be hunted by the Israelis.

Most of the men are thought to have been members of al-Aqsa, a militant group linked to Mr Arafat's Fatah movement.

Mounting pressure

The headquarters building, known as the Muqataa, has a battered and beleaguered air.

It was partially destroyed by the Israeli army two years ago, and Mr Arafat is a virtual prisoner in what remains of it.

The Israelis have recently been making it increasingly clear that its role as a sanctuary for a number of wanted militants had to end.

Some of the militants left of their own accord, but it seems that with the pressure mounting, Mr Arafat's team decided that the remaining 20 had to go too.

Israel has demonstrated recently how ready it is at the moment to take the strongest military action against the Palestinian leaderships.

In the past month, it has assassinated the two leading figures in the Hamas militant movement.