MIDDLE EAST: Israeli soldiers and armoured vehicles surged back into president Yasser Arafat's compound in Ramallah early yesterday morning, blew up six buildings and fired several missiles - one of which hit Mr Arafat's bedroom - in what Israeli officials said was a "message" to Mr Arafat in the wake of the suicide car bombing in northern Israel which killed 17 people on Wednesday.
But unlike during Israel's massive April incursion into the West Bank, when troops and tanks besieged Mr Arafat's compound for 34 days, the soldiers and armoured vehicles left after six hours. A Palestinian security guard was killed during the assault.
The Israeli Defence Minister, Mr Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, who hinted that similar operations would be carried out in the future if the attacks continued, said the pre-dawn raid on the compound was meant to demonstrate to Mr Arafat that Israel held him and his Palestinian Authority responsible for the current wave of attacks.
Israeli officials, however, strenuously insisted the military action was not intended to physically harm Mr Arafat. "If there had been any intention of harming Arafat, it would not have been a problem," an army spokesman said.
But the Palestinian leader, who was photographed inspecting the debris covering his bed - the shell landed about a metre from it - insisted Israel had tried to strike at him.
"Of course they knew where I was," he said. "Everybody knows this is my bedroom."
Mr Arafat also dismissed the growing talk - especially in Israeli circles - that he might be evicted from the territories if suicide attacks continue. "Expel me?" he roared. "I will die here."
Mr Arafat's deportation, however, does not appear to be imminent. With the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, heading to Washington this weekend for a meeting with President Bush, the Israeli leader is unlikely to adopt such a drastic measure before stepping into the White House.
"His expulsion would not solve the problem," conceded Mr Raanan Gissin, an aide to Mr Sharon. "The security services do not recommend this as the most effective solution." Palestinian officials turned their wrath on the US yesterday, accusing the Bush administration of giving Israel tacit approval to conduct its military operations.
Mr Nabil Abu Rudeineh, an adviser to Mr Arafat, said the US has "given Israel a green light to attack our people".
A US official parried the allegation, insisting Israel had not informed the US of its Ramallah foray, and that the Bush administration had not given approval.
In his planned meeting with Mr Bush on Monday, Mr Sharon hopes to ensure that any new US initiative in the Middle East does not include concessions he is not prepared to make.
Mr Sharon has said Israel will have to hold onto large swathes of the West Bank in any future agreement. However, he will not have been comforted by his Foreign Minister, Mr Shimon Peres, who revealed yesterday that the US was forging a new diplomatic plan whereby "the Palestinians will give up on the right of return in exchange for Israel giving up on all the settlements". Meanwhile, an Israeli motorist who was shot in an attack north of Ramallah yetsterday later died of his wounds.
AFP reports from Washington:President Bush will seek to define the goals of a Middle East conference later this year in talks with President Mubarak of Egypt and Mr Sharon.
A senior White House official said yesterday that Mr Bush wished to better understand the position of the two leaders "as we are going through our own internal deliberations about next steps in the Middle East".
The US has announced a ministerial-level conference on the Middle East, with participation by the UN, the EU and Russia. But Washington has not yet defined the goals of the conference, or even its date or venue. The US Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, has warned against optimism about its potential results, stressing that the conference would be only a "modest step".
In hosting Mr Mubarak today at Camp David, and Mr Sharon on Monday in Washington, Mr Bush risks being subjected to contradictory pressures from his two guests.