HIGHLIGHTS: Nusseibeh Denies Claims by Top Israeli Officials that Office Was Used to Advance Palestinian Interests in Jerusalem||Occupation Army Arrests Arafat's Chief Body Guard|| Israel's New Army Chief Opposes Expulsion of Arafat||Israel to Put Barghouti on Trial|| STORY: Israel defended on Thursday its decision to close the office of a moderate Palestinian official in Jerusalem in the face of U.S. concern the action might hurt efforts to promote Palestinian reformers. (Read photo caption)

Israeli Public Security Minister Uzi Landau stood by Tuesday's closure when asked about it in a radio interview.
The right-wing minister repeated allegations, denied by Nusseibeh, that the office was used to advance Palestinian Authority interests in Jerusalem in violation of interim peace deals.

"It's a matter of sovereignty. The Palestinian Authority is very closely connected with this university. It is the long arm of the Palestinian Authority to torpedo the sovereignty of Israel in Jerusalem," he said.

Israel seized Arab East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in a move not recognized internationally. The Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of the state they hope to establish in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Culture Minister Matan Vilnai said in a radio interview Palestinians were engaged in political activity at the university, but that Israel may be able to work with Nusseibeh in the future and "maybe it was unwise to raid his offices."

Transport Minister Ephraim Sneh said on Wednesday the closure was "stupid and wrong from political perspective."

Nusseibeh is regarded by the United States as an important voice of moderation among Palestinians, and he has taken a leading role among Palestinian intellectuals in denouncing Palestinian militant attacks on civilians inside Israel.

OCCUPATION ARMY ARRESTS ARAFAT'S CHIEF BODY GUARD

The Israeli army captured a commander of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's elite Force 17 guard unit in an overnight raid in the West Bank, Palestinian security officials said.

Colonel Abdelrahim al Nubani, the head of Force 17's security service, was seized in the village of Nubani, around 20 kilometres (12 miles) north of Ramallah, in an operation shortly after 2:00 am (2300 GMT Wednesday), the officials said.

An elite Israeli unit backed by two armoured personnel carriers swooped on the village, they said.

Israeli military sources, quoted by the public radio, confirmed the arrest.

The occupation meanwhile said it had arrested 10 suspected militants in villages near the West Bank city of Nablus overnight. Witnesses said about 20 Palestinians had been detained near Jenin.

The occupation army has carried out regular sweeps for militants in Palestinian-ruled cities, towns, villages and refugee camps following Resistance bombings that have killed scores of Israelis.

Israeli occupation troops have also reoccupied seven of the eight cities in the West Bank, including Nablus and Jenin. Israel says the measures are needed to prevent Resistance bombings but the Palestinians say they amount to collective punishment.

ISRAEL'S NEW ARMY CHIEF OPPOSES EXPULSION OF ARAFAT

Israel's new armed forces chief General Moshe Yahalon has said he is against the expulsion of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, while backing efforts to sideline him, army radio reported.

"It would be a mistake to expel Arafat because it would strengthen him instead of weakening him," Yahalon was quoted as telling senior officers Wednesday.

Arafat would "regain the international legitimacy which he has lost," Yahalon said.

The stance is the opposite to that of Yahalon's predecessor as chief of the general staff, General Shaul Mofaz, who handed over his baton to his deputy on Tuesday.

Yahalon is considered as a political hawk and in favour of the army taking a tough line against the Palestinians. In May 1997 he accused Arafat of seeking to secure political concessions by means of violence, and a year later he predicted the collapse of the peace process.

ISREAL TO TRY BARGHOUTI

At the same time it was announced Thursday that Israel plans to put a prominent Palestinian, Marwan Barghouti, on trial soon in connection with deadly Resistance attacks on Israelis. A Justice Ministry spokesman said the trial would be the first in years of a senior Palestinian in Israel.

Barghouti, one of the most visible Palestinian leaders in the 21-month uprising against Israel, was arrested in April in the West Bank city of Ramallah during an Israeli incursion. He had not been charged.

Justice spokesman Yaakov Galanti said Israel intended to try Barghouti together with four other Palestinians in civilian court because of their connection "to several attacks in Israel" - as opposed to attacks carried out in the West Bank.

Some of the four could be charged in the coming days, but charges against Barghouti are only likely in a few weeks, he said.

Barghouti was a key leader of Arafat's Fatah movement in the West Bank, and in a recent public opinion survey he emerged as second in popularity only to Arafat himself.

In placing Barghouti on trial, Israel is apparently hoping to prove the complicity at the highest levels of the Palestinian leadership in what it calls terror attacks against its civilians. But the tactic could also backfire, turning Barghouti into a symbol of Israeli oppression and further increasing his popularity among Palestinians.

Barghouti was often present at Palestinian street protests in the early days of the Palestinian uprising, which began in September 2000, where he delivered impassioned speeches on confronting the Israeli occupation forces.

Barghouti was gradually drawn into involvement in attacks, first defending them, and then funneling funds to militants, and finally orchestrating them, said a senior Israeli security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Israeli authorities have said he acknowledged orchestrating attacks, with the approval of Arafat. His lawyer, Jawad Boulos, has denied the claim.

On Thursday, Boulos said Barghouti did not care what kind of trial Israel carried out.

"Israel has no right to try him in front of a civil or military court, and we are not going to cooperate with the court," he said.

"Israel will build charges around whatever it wants. We don't recognize them and we won't recognize this trial," he said.

PHOTO CAPTION

(Top)Palestinian philosophy professor Sari Nusseibeh, the Palestinian Al-Quds University president and the PLO's commissioner for Jerusalem affairs, is shown at his office in Jerusalem in this Oct. 22, 2001 file photo. Israeli police closed Nusseibeh's office Tuesday, by order of Public Security Minister Uzi Landau. (AP Photo/Rikard Larma)
(Bottom) Marwan Barghouti speaks during an interview in the West Bank town of Ramallah on Oct. 13, 2001. Israel plans to put the prominent Palestinian on trial soon in connection with deadly attacks on Israelis, a Justice Ministry spokesman said Thursday, July 11, 2002. The trial would be the first in years of a senior Palestinian in Israel. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Larma)