ARABS-ISRAEL - April 15 - Barghouti Arrested.

Israel arrests Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti in Ramallah. (He is the most senior PA official to be arrested by Israel in its 2-week offensive in the West Bank. He has played a leading role in mobilising support for the intifada and has popular backing. Israeli officials accuse him of involvement in attacks on civilians, a charge he has denied. Barghouti was arrested after he left his hiding place to have lunch at the house of Ziad Abu Ein, another Fatah militant. Barghouti was apparently scheduled to speak to an Arab TV station from a mobile phone). Late at night, Sharon told Fox News the capture of Barghouti was a key achievement of the "war on terror". He promised to put him on trial on charges of murdering many Israelis by leading Al Aqsa Brigade that has claimed suicide attacks. Rightwing Israeli MPs demanded a swift trial and even the death penalty, but Yossi Beilin, a Labour party dove, said Barghouti's detention could "lead the conflict into even darker corners" and urged his release as soon as possible. PA officials said Barghouti would not have much to reveal, with an unidentified PA official saying: "He's not involved with Al Aqsa Brigade and the Israelis think Al Aqsa is some efficient organisation but it's small cells that are formed separately in neighbourhoods - it does not have a central command". PA Information Minister Yassir Abed Rabbo said: "The arrest of a big fish might make Israelis feel better for a while. But this is what happens with all colonial powers - the public gets deceived with big arrests but only temporarily. Let them put Barghouti on trial. They wouldn't dare because it would be a trial of the Israeli occupation". Other PA officials warned Israel not to harm Barghouti. Meanwhile, Israel for the first time let the International Committee of the Red Cross, UN relief agencies and some journalists into the devastated Jenin refugee camp. One aid agency worker said: "Our initial effort to enter the camp didn't work because the roads were too destroyed. In some alleys, it looked like an earthquake had hit". Sharon told CNN his troops would leave Jenin and Nablus in the West Bank within a week. He said troops would not leave Ramallah and Bethlehem until suspected militants were handed over but insisted the redeployments answered US calls for a withdrawal "without delay".