Israeli helicopters have fired on a building next to Yasser Arafat's offices in Ramallah where the Palestinian leader is under siege. It follows a warning by Israeli troops that they plan to storm his office this evening.
Mr Arafat has renewed appeals for international assistance to end the Israeli attacks in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israel has intensified its assault despite a United Nations resolution calling for an Israeli withdrawal. Israeli incursions have also been reported in Hebron and Beit Jala.
Meanwhile, 29 people were injured, six of them seriously, when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a cafe in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv this evening. A group allied to Mr Arafat's Fatah movement has claimed responsibility for the attack.
In another development, US President George W Bush has acknowledged Israel's need to take self-defence measures. At a Press Conference at his Texas ranch, President Bush said the Palestinian leader needed to do more to prevent terrorism.
He said he had received assurances from Israel that Mr Arafat's life was not in danger. He urged the Israeli government to find a path to peace and defuse the crisis in the Middle East. Mr Bush also warned Iran to stop sponsoring terrorism in the Middle East.
In his appeal for help, Mr Arafat, who is confined to his compound in Ramallah without electricity and other services, made his appeal by candlelight.
He also spoke again of the Palestinian flag being raised over Jerusalem, a call, which in the past, the Israelis have described as an incitement to violence. In a further development, the bodies of five Palestinian policemen have been discovered in a bank in Ramallah, where the Israeli occupation is into its second day. A senior Palestinian negotiator claimed they had been executed. The Israeli army said it was investigating.
An Irish woman is reported to be trapped in Mr Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah. Caoimhe Butterly, from Dublin, is a member of a group called the International Solidarity Movement. Members of the group said she had been working as a voluntary medic and had gone in to President Arafat's headquarters in an ambulance.
The group said Israeli troops stopped the ambulance on the way out, arrested the Palestinians on board and forced Ms Butterly back into the compound. Members of the group are currently trying to gain access to the compound.
Heavy machine-gun fire and at least one explosion were reported in Ramallah city centre this morning. Yesterday, Israeli troops forced their way into the compound and fought President Arafat's security forces. Eight people, including two Israeli soldiers, were reportedly killed in the fighting.
The United States joined other United Nations Security Council members in adopting a resolution calling for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Ramallah and other Palestinian cities. The resolution was approved by a vote of 14 to 0 at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, which was called to address the Middle East crisis.
The resolution expressed "grave concern" at recent suicide bombings in Israel and the "military attack" against Mr Arafat's Palestinian Authority headquarters. Speaking at the meeting UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, said he is deeply alarmed by the escalation of violence between the Israelis and Palestinians.
