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Israel Adds Troops to Palestinian Areas

Posted on: Wednesday, 8 October 2003, 06:00 CDT

Israel dispatched troop reinforcements and weighed a call-up of reserves Wednesday, citing new warnings about planned attacks by Palestinian militants.

The military also extended a two-week lockdown on Palestinians' travel within the West Bank and Gaza in what it said was a bid to prevent further attacks.

Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz ordered the troop reinforcements sent to the West Bank and Gaza Strip and canceled training courses for soldiers.

Israeli military sources said orders for mobilizing reserve soldiers were being drawn up because of an increase of terror threats. The closure is to remain in effect at least until Oct. 22, and the government will then decide whether to call up reserves, media reports said.

Advisers to Yasser Arafat, meanwhile, denied a report he suffered a mild heart attack last week. They said he is battling a stomach flu and continues to be weak.

In brief appearances this week, Arafat looked drawn and pale, and his lower lip trembled considerably. He spoke with great effort and with prompting from his chief adviser, Nabil Abu Rdeneh. At times, he appeared in a daze, staring straight ahead.

"He had a stomach flu but he never had a heart attack," said Dr. Yousef Goussous, one of four physicians who examined Arafat last week.

Over the weekend, Arafat installed an eight-member emergency Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia, whom he had tapped for the job last month. Qureia planned to seek parliament approval for his team on Thursday.

Nasser Yousef, who is to oversee security as the new interior minister, refused to participate in the swearing-in of the Cabinet on Tuesday, saying he did not want to take office until the government had parliament backing.

Last month, Yousef had a bitter argument with Arafat over the extent of his authority, but the dispute appears to have been settled. Security policy will be set by a 13-member National Security Council headed by Arafat, and Yousef will have command of all eight security branches. In the past, four of the branches were under Arafat's direct control and four under those of the interior minister.

It remains unclear how much control Arafat will retain under the new arrangement. The United States and Israel, who have accused Arafat of encouraging terrorism, demand that he not have any say over security.

Reflecting the tensions, the Israeli military announced Tuesday it was extending the closure of the West Bank and Gaza, banning Palestinians from Israel and cordoning off Palestinian towns. The closure was imposed before the Jewish New Year two weeks ago. Normally such closures are lifted after Jewish holidays.

Mofaz ordered the lockdown against the recommendations of top security officials who noted that the level of warnings about possible terror attacks was not unusual, Israeli media reported.

The closure meant that West Bank residents were unable to leave their communities and checkpoints divided the Gaza Strip into four parts, cutting off major roads.

Stringent travel bans have been in effect for the past three years of fighting, but at times of relative calm Palestinians are able to move within the West Bank and Gaza, with some restrictions. Under a blanket closure, life comes to a standstill.

The military said the closure is meant to keep Palestinian attackers out of the country. Security was intensified after a weekend suicide bombing in the Israeli city of Haifa in which 19 people were killed.

Israel and the United States have made clear that Qureia, the new Palestinian prime minister, will be judged on his success in ending terror attacks.

Israel says that unless the Palestinians dismantle the militant groups - as required by a U.S.-backed peace plan - it will not carry out its obligations, such as a freeze on Jewish settlement building.

Qureia has called for ending the "chaos of weapons" in the Palestinian areas, but says he won't use force against the armed groups. He says he wants to end the violence and is prepared to begin truce talks with Israel immediately.

The prime minister took office amid intensifying rumors about Arafat's ill health.

On Sept. 29, Arafat's personal physician, Dr. Ashraf al-Kurdi, rushed from Jordan to Arafat's compound in the West Bank town of Ramallah to examine the Palestinian leader. At the time, Arafat had been unable to keep down his food for three days, and Palestinian sources said he feared he had been poisoned.

Al-Kurdi said after the check-up that Arafat was suffering from a stomach flu and that he was in relatively good health. However, Arafat has not improved since that visit, his aides said on condition of anonymity. Arafat continues to pick at his food and requires a lot of rest.

Arafat has been confined for nearly two years to his Ramallah compound by Israeli sieges and threats that he would not be allowed to return if he left.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Jonathan Peled said Wednesday that Israel "probably would" permit Arafat to leave the compound if he needs to be treated at a hospital. "We're following it (Arafat's health)," Peled said. "I wouldn't say we're worried, or upset or anything. We're simply following it."

In response to twin suicide bombings last month, Israel threatened to "remove" Arafat as an obstacle to peace, but did not say whether it intended to expel or kill him, and when it would take action.

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