Israeli sharpshooters have taken positions overlooking Mr Yasser Arafat's compound today amid reports some militants inside slipped out after troops aborted a siege under US pressure.
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Palestinian President Yasser Arafat is greeted by the crowd as he walks out of his office after the Israeli army withdrew from his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah last week.
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Palestinian security sources said marksmen were seen taking over several buildings with clear views of the presidential compound in Ramallah with the apparent intent of preventing more militants from getting away. The army had no comment.
Israeli media said yesterday some among a handful of Palestinians whom Israeli officials wanted to arrest for alleged links to suicide bombings had sneaked out of the complex after the army pullout on Sunday.
Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon, smarting from the humiliation of having to scrap the siege without arresting wanted men, predicted Israel would halt Palestinian "terror" within a few months and pave the way for political talks.
Israel's Maarivdaily said Mr Sharon had telephoned Defence Minister Mr Binyamin Ben-Eliezer from Moscow, where he was on a two-day visit, to berate him for letting militants get away.