Arafat free as Israelis pull out

A furious Yasser Arafat last night emerged from five months confined to his Ramallah compound denouncing Israel even as it withdrew its tanks and troops to the cheers of Palestinian fighters.
As Mr Arafat was freed, fighting broke out at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem - where another siege has been under way - sparking a fire and provoking the Palestinian leader to accuse the Israeli government of a launching an attack.

"This is a big crime against this holy place, this nativity church," he said.

Israel withdrew most of its troops and armour from Mr Arafat's compound within hours of the Palestinians handing over six high-profile prisoners to Anglo-American custody in a US-brokered move to end the siege.

The Palestinian leader's supporters kissed and hugged each other, shouting anti-Israeli slogans and promising to defend their leader to the death.