A day after the IDF quit most of Ramallah, the official executions of suspected \"collaborators\" have resumed. Three Ramallah residents suspected of cooperating with Israeli forces over the past two weeks were shot to death today by a firing squad in a central square. IDF forces are still present in Ramallah in the vicinity of Arafat\'s compound. Israel demands that the backer of the Karin-A weapons ship and the murderers of Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze\'evi, all of whom are being sheltered by Arafat in his besieged office, be turned over for trial.
Attorney-General Elyakim Rubenstein, State Prosecutor Edna Arbel, and army and GSS representatives have met several times over the past few days to discuss the arrest and future trial of Fatah/Tanzim head Marwan Barghouti. It was decided that a joint team will track the ongoing interrogation, and will then formulate recommendations. A military judge arrived this afternoon at the Russian Compound, where Barghouti was placed in custody after being arrested a week ago, and extended the terrorist leader\'s custody for 25 days. Barghouti said that though the GSS is not allowing him enough sleep, physical force is not being employed against him. He is not cooperating with the investigators, although his nephew who was arrested together with him is cooperating with them.
American envoy William Burns met with Arafat today, and later called it a \"positive and important\" meeting. Arafat agreed to conduct negotiations over the ongoing Bethlehem stand-off. Some 200 Arabs, several dozen of them armed terrorists, have been holding many clergymen and children hostage for almost three weeks in the Church of the Nativity. Five Arabs escaped from the church yesterday, and were released after the Israelis ensured that they were not connected to terror organizations.
Attorney-General Elyakim Rubenstein, State Prosecutor Edna Arbel, and army and GSS representatives have met several times over the past few days to discuss the arrest and future trial of Fatah/Tanzim head Marwan Barghouti. It was decided that a joint team will track the ongoing interrogation, and will then formulate recommendations. A military judge arrived this afternoon at the Russian Compound, where Barghouti was placed in custody after being arrested a week ago, and extended the terrorist leader\'s custody for 25 days. Barghouti said that though the GSS is not allowing him enough sleep, physical force is not being employed against him. He is not cooperating with the investigators, although his nephew who was arrested together with him is cooperating with them.
American envoy William Burns met with Arafat today, and later called it a \"positive and important\" meeting. Arafat agreed to conduct negotiations over the ongoing Bethlehem stand-off. Some 200 Arabs, several dozen of them armed terrorists, have been holding many clergymen and children hostage for almost three weeks in the Church of the Nativity. Five Arabs escaped from the church yesterday, and were released after the Israelis ensured that they were not connected to terror organizations.