Arafat tells militants to leave compound

Yasser Arafat expelled 20 wanted militants from his compound Thursday out of fear Israel planned to break in and snatch them, a further sign that the Palestinian leader worries he might be Israel's next target.

Israeli Minister Ariel Sharon, meanwhile, backed away from his promise to honor a Likud Party vote on a withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, senior government officials said, as polls showed shrinking support for the plan.

Violence on Thursday, with Israel soldiers killing a 9-year-old Palestinian girl and a 16-year-old boy in clashes in the Gaza town of Beit Lahiya. A 4-year-old Palestinian girl who lived near the site of clashes died of tear gas inhalation, doctors said. Three Palestinian gunmen in the West Bank town of Tulkarem were also killed.

Also Thursday, two Israeli soldiers were seriously wounded in Kfar Darom when Palestinians fired an anti-tank missile into the Gaza settlement, the military said. Early yesterday, Israeli tanks moved into a Palestinian area across from the settlement and leveled farmland, residents said, and ordered a family out of a house.

The military said the missile was fired from the house, and soldiers were tearing down the structure.

Israel stepped up attacks on Gaza militants in advance of the proposed withdrawal, killing Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin last month and new leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi on Saturday.

In the wake of those killings, Arafat has become increasingly worried he would be next, Palestinian officials said. The Israeli Cabinet decided last year to "remove" Arafat, whom it accuses of fomenting terror during 3 1/2 years of violence, though it has never acted on the decision.

Arafat remained holed up in his Ramallah compound for nearly two years -- since shortly after Israel's Operation Defensive Shield, a large-scale invasion of the West Bank -- concerned Israel would at best not let him return and at worst kill him if he left.

After Defensive Shield, about 40 fugitives from the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a militia affiliated with Arafat's Fatah movement, sought refuge in the compound, hoping Arafat's presence would deter Israel from coming after them.

Last summer, amid persistent Israeli demands, Arafat threw the men out, but 26 of them returned to the compound in recent months.

They sought refuge in a filthy, half-demolished back room with a collapsed wall covered by a blanket. About a week ago, five of the most wanted militants were thrown out after Israel threatened to raid the compound and get them, "even if they are hiding in Arafat's drawer," a Palestinian security official said on condition of anonymity.

About Thursday, Arafat, apparently spurred by the movement of Israeli troops in Ramallah on Wednesday night, personally visited the 20 remaining militants and demanded they leave immediately, according to one of them, Ali Barghouti.

"We became fugitives to defend [Arafat] and now that we have become a burden, he is throwing us away," Barghouti said angrily.

The only remaining fugitive was a militant paralyzed in fighting with Israel, Arafat said.

Israeli sources said they were not targeting Arafat, had not given him a specific warning about the fugitives and had no plans to raid his compound. The nearby military activity was routine, the sources said.

Also Thursday, Israeli officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Sharon viewed a May 2 Likud Party vote on his plan to pull out of Gaza and four West Bank settlements as an "advisory referendum."

Even if the plan is voted down by the party's 200,000 registered voters, Sharon will still present it to the Cabinet and parliament for approval, one senior official said.

"If worse comes to worse and the referendum is not approved, he will still try to push his plan through," the official said.

In proposing the poll last month, Sharon promised to honor its outcome.

"The referendum will obligate all leaders of the Likud, and me among them," he said at the time.

Sharon's which also includes completion of a West Bank barrier and the expansion of five West Bank settlement blocs, appeared to be gaining momentum after the endorsements of US President George W. Bush and several key Likud ministers.