ISRAEL was preparing to lift its siege on Yasser Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah tonight after six wanted Palestinian gunmen were transferred to international custody.
The men were transported from the compound in six separate armoured cars in a convoy of around a dozen vehicles, according to reports. Richard Boucher, the US State Department spokesman, said the transfer "appears to be taking place now".
However, the convoy was delayed from leaving by two hours after Palestinians demanded that Israeli army snipers be removed from surrounding buildings.
The handover, brokered by US security officials, should lead to Israeli troops withdrawing from Ramallah and allow Mr Arafat to leave the compound for the first time since Israel invaded the West Bank on March 29.
Israeli tanks and troops surrounded and attacked the compound in an attempt to force Mr Arafat to surrender the six men suspected of killing the Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Zeevi last October.
The men were tried and convicted in an unofficial trial held in the the West Bank compound last week. But Israel has refused to accept the verdicts and wants to retry them.
Elsewhere today, four Palestinians were killed by Israeli soldiers in clashed in the Gaza Strip. A two-year-old girl was among the dead, according to reports.
In Bethlehem in the West Bank, an 11-year-old Palestinian boy was killed and two others were injured in an explosion. Israeli army officials were investigating what caused the blast.
