IDF takes control of official PA building in Ramallah

[USAcommitteeX]

Yasser Arafat in Ramallah with an image of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem behind him.

IDF troops took control of the Palestinian Cultural Ministry in the West Bank city of Ramallah Thursday morning, Palestinians reported.

The building, which is several stories high, is located just south of Yasser Arafat's Ramallah Muqata headquarters.

The building gives the soldier a vantage point of the Muqata and sends a direct and clear message to Arafat that the IDF is present in the West Bank city.

The action came just after the arrests of a Hamas militant overnight in the West Bank city and as the security cabinet was set to meet to deliberate the expulsion of Yasser Arafat.

Military sources confirmed that troops had taken positions in the city, but said that it was part of a routine military action.

The military tried to downplay the significance of the action saying that troops have periodically carried out operations in Ramallah.