Israeli gunships fire on Arafat

Israeli helicopter gunships fired missiles at Yasser Arafat's headquarters on the West Bank last night, and three shells nearly hit the Palestinian leader's office.

Palestinian security officials said Mr Arafat was inside his headquarters and did not leave the building in Ramallah during the attack. They said no one had been injured.

The attack was the latest in Israel's punishing retaliation for suicide bombings in Jerusalem and Haifa, renewing fears that the conflict could strain Arab support for the US-led war against terror.

And Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's response to the bombings has revealed signs of a split in the Government.

Foreign Minister Shimon Peres has said his Labour Party is considering its future as junior Coalition partner to Mr Sharon's right-wing Likud Party.

Israeli forces yesterday turned a blowtorch directly on Mr Arafat, whom Israel blames for failing to crack down on militants behind the attacks.

The suicide bombings, which killed 26 Israelis and injured 200, were the bloodiest coordinated attacks inside Israel in years.

In retaliation, Mr Sharon took aim at Mr Arafat's symbols of power with a series of air strikes as Palestinians called for United Nations intervention.

Troops and tanks headed into Palestinian-ruled parts of several West Bank towns, moving to within 200m of a compound in Ramallah, where Mr Arafat was working.

Armoured vehicles seized the grounds of Gaza International Airport, an emblem of Palestinian autonomy.

"Bulldozers have started tearing up the runway," said Major-General Abdel-Razek al-Majaydeh, Palestinian public security chief.

"It is an act of sabotage."

Helicopter missile strikes earlier wrecked three of Mr Arafat's helicopters and damaged a hangar in Gaza City, killing at least 2 people and injuring more than 100.

The raid was launched just before dusk as Muslims were gathering to break the day-long fast for the holy month of Ramadan.

Apache helicopters machine-gunned the hangar, causing it to erupt in a blaze of aviation fuel.

Columns of black smoke filled the skies as terrified families scattered through the streets.

Shortly afterwards, F-16 planes fired rockets at a police station and Mr Arafat's headquarters in the West Bank town of Jenin, known as the capital of the suicide bombers.

Israeli officials said the air strikes were a taste of things to come.

It is only the second time Israel has unleashed fighter planes against Palestinian targets since the 1967 Middle East war. The last time was in May, when Israel used F-16s to retaliate for a suicide bombing that killed five people.

Mr Sharon sent his forces into action after returning from talks in Washington with US President George Bush.

In a hard-hitting TV address to the nation shortly after the air strikes, the Israeli leader blamed Mr Arafat for foisting a war of terrorism on the Jewish state.

"In choosing to try to win political accomplishments through murder and in choosing to allow the ruthless killing of civilians, Arafat has chosen the path of terrorism."

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