Stranded Turkish reporter tells of plight in Ramallah

ANKARA: A Turkish journalist, stranded in Ramallah, said on Tuesday that Israeli forces are exposing the life of reporters to danger by doing nothing to help the media leave the town despite ordering them out. "I was told by a member of the Israeli military's press service that they do not have vehicles to take us out," Ayse Karabat, a reporter for the NTV news channel and the Radikal daily, told AFP in a telephone interview.

"Then he made a proposal: 'Why don't you take a taxi?' I guess he was serious," said Karabat, 30. "I had to explain that Ramallah had been declared a closed military zone and taxi services were not working. He said I was right and told me not to worry about my safety, before hanging up," she added.

Karabat, who is based in Jerusalem, went to Ramallah last Thursday, a day before Israel invaded the town and besieged Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in his headquarters. Stranded in an apartment along with a Danish journalist and his wife, Karabat said they had run out of food. Other Israeli authorities have suggested they call Palestinian ambulances to take them out.

"It sounds funny when you take into account how safe it is to travel in a Palestinian ambulance," Karabat said in reference to reports that the Israeli army is keeping Palestinian emergency services from carrying out their duty. Turkish diplomats have launched efforts to rescue Karabat and have advised her not to leave the building until Israel sends an armored vehicle to evacuate her.