Arafat meets opposition to his calls for cease-fire

Associated Press

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Yasser Arafat closed six Hamas offices in a crackdown on militant groups Tuesday amid opposition over his call to end attacks against the Jewish state. Israel, meanwhile, rounded up 10 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

A new poll showed more than half the Palestinians opposed a halt to the fighting. On Monday, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Popular Front leaders said that they would not abide by Arafat’s cease-fire order.

Israeli leaders remained skeptical of Arafat’s intentions. Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said attacks were continuing. "We are not seeing a real effort against the … terror infrastructure," he said.

Israel’s military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Shaul Mofaz, said a string of bloody Palestinian attacks has led to the "delegitimization of Arafat … something that allows us today greater freedom of action."

Israeli forces arrested 10 Palestinians in two incidents in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, following sweeps earlier this week in the West Bank.

Arafat has said his security forces have detained 180 militants, but Israel charges that no leaders have been picked up.

Gaza security chief Mohammed Dahlan said Tuesday that the Palestinian Authority, headed by Arafat, would not tolerate independent action by the militants. "We will arrest anyone who violates authority decisions," he said. "And we will prevent firing of mortar shells by force."

Secretary of State Colin Powell phoned Arafat on Tuesday, said Nabil Abu Rdeneh, an Arafat aide. He said Arafat appealed to Powell to press Israel to end its siege on Palestinian territories and stop killing suspected militants.

Powell told Arafat that he has taken some positive actions, but "actions need to be completed" to stop violence, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.