At approximately 1:30am Friday 29 March 2002, the Israeli Occupation Forces invaded the central West Bank town of Ramallah imposing a tight siege.
These forces have focused their attacks especially on the Palestinian National Authority compound which hosts President Arafat's office.
They destroyed three gates and two front walls in the compound.
The whole compound, with the exception of Arafat’s private office, is now occupied.
  The Israeli forces have been surrounding the same compound since Friday night, isolating the Palestinian leadership from the outside world.
Palestinian sources reported that Arafat's office was fired upon directly and repeatedly with heavy machine guns and maintain there is legitimate reason to fear for President Arafat’s life.
  In addition, the Israeli Occupation Forces have restricted food and medical supplies, destroyed electricity and telephone lines, and cut off the water supply in Ramallah including in Arafat's compound.
Residents of the city are therefore without these essential supplies.
  Israeli forces have willfully restricted the movement of ambulances and medical teams, in some cases directly targeting them for attack.
They have also targeted journalists and occupied the Palestinian Space Broadcast Station.
There is credible evidence to suggest that Israel will escalate its aggression against the Palestinian people not only in Ramallah and the West Bank in general, but throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Since the beginning of this latest incursion, six Palestinians have been killed, approximately fifty wounded, and seventy arrested.
  In a separate incident, the Israeli Occupation Forces entered the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem on Friday, 29 March just after the noon prayer.
They used tear gas, rubber bullets, and sound bombs against Palestinian worshippers.
  Later in the day Israeli Occupation Forces invaded the West Bank town of Beit Sahur, west of Bethlehem, causing many to believe that their ultimate aim is to retake control of all territory currently under the administration of the Palestinian Authority.
Such incursions have without exception been accompanied by killing civilians and destruction of public and private property.
  Israeli forces have tightened the siege, euphemistically referred to as “closure”, around the Occupied Palestinian Territories and in between towns and villages.
The Gaza Strip has been divided into three separate sections and all movement between them has been halted including for international journalists.
In addition, all West Bank towns and villages have been cut off from each other.
  Since the night of 29 March, all international borders with the Palestinian territories have been closed.
  Al Mezan Center for Human Rights considers Israel’s actions ominous, fearing they may preface civilian massacres throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territories in the days to come.
Al-Mezan reminds the international community that Ariel Sharon has a long and brutal record of aggression against the Palestinian people and calls upon it to intervene immediately to prevent further disasters from taking place.
  Al-Mezan calls upon the international community to fulfill its legal and moral obligations as High Contacting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilians in Time of War.
The gravity of this situation must not be underestimated.
Silence in the face of these continuing events is akin to complicity.
We demand immediate international direct action to put a stop to these ongoing crimes.
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