Palestinian witnesses said Friday night that Israeli troops had stormed the Palestinian Authority's administrative headquarters in Hebron, Israel Radio reported.
The radio quoted the sources as saying that troops were located on the roof of the building and could also be seen carrying out a search in several rooms on the upper floors.
Heavy explosions shook the building, a Reuters cameraman said. "They have destroyed the whole place," the cameraman said, shortly after seeing soldiers moving in the building with flashlights.
The army blew up the bulk of the main compound, Israeli military radio said, adding that Palestinians may have been killed inside the building.
Israeli bulldozers cleared away debris so soldiers could search what was left standing of the complex.
The Israeli army had earlier denied its troops had entered the building but after the blasts a spokeswoman said soldiers were carrying out "activities" at the site. She declined to comment further. It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties from the blasts.
Earlier in the day, a Palestinian negotiator emerged empty-handed from a Palestinian Authority complex in Hebron besieged by the Israeli army, saying he had not seen any of the Palestinians holed up inside.
"I did not find anyone during this tour" of the building that houses administrative and security offices of the PA government, Talal Sadr told AFP. "The 'moqataa' is very big," he said, using the Arabic word that means the seat of the Authority. But Sadr said he planned to return to the building after consulting with other Palestinian negotiators.
Sadr, a former Palestinian cabinet minister, acting without any official mandate, walked alone through the Israeli army line and into the battered but still imposing three storey structure. He climbed over rubble, entering through a gaping 100 meter-wide hole in a wall that was first breached on Thursday by an Israeli bulldozer.
He was escorted to that point by Israeli soldiers who have blockaded the building since they first moved into Hebron late Tuesday as part of an operation to reoccupy key West Bank cities. "I walked into the headquarters. I went into several places," he said shortly after his visit of less than an hour inside.
"The situation there is extremely difficult - a lot of damage in many places. I didn't see anyone, but that doesn't mean there is no one inside because there are place that are heavily damaged that I couldn't enter."
Earlier, an Israeli bulldozer destroyed a side wall of the building. The bulldozer knocked a large hole in the wall, and explosions were heard every few minutes at the compound.
Witnesses said the bulldozer was knocking down the wall at the ground level of the building, and tanks were firing at the building as well.
Palestinian sources said that Israeli troops surrounding the compound have given the Palestinians holed up inside a one-hour ultimatum to turn themselves in, or they would attack the compound. An Israeli army spokesman said he knew of no ultimatum. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
