HIGHLIGHTS: Occupation Troops Blow up Palestinian Intelligence Service Offices in Ramallah||A Palestinian Guard Killed But Arafat Unharmed||Palestinian Trade Office in Jerusalem Closed||Washington Says Incursion into Arafat Compound Not Helpful in the Push for Peace But U.S. Governors Voice Support for Israel & House Panel Stages Hearing on Arafat & PA Future|| STORY: Israeli occupation troops and armored vehicles pulled out of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's West Bank compound Thursday morning, a few hours after smashing their way in, witnesses said. (Read photo caption)

The occupation troops had blown up offices of the Palestinian intelligence service, about 200 feet from Arafat's quarters, witnesses said. Palestinian officials said Arafat was unharmed.

The occupation army said it carried out the raid in response to a Palestinian car bomb attack on an Israeli bus Tuesday, which killed 17 Israelis and the bomber.

Witnesses said the Israeli forces had left the compound and lifted the cordon of armor around it, ending a siege, which lasted about six hours.

Israel Radio said a Palestinian guard was killed during the incursion, but that Arafat was unharmed.

Palestinian negotiator and cabinet minister Saeb Erekat told CNN that Arafat is "safe, but there was heavy shelling, heavy shooting. I could hear it over the phone."

"This is a major, major escalation and I hope that we can have the Americans and Europeans intervening immediately," Erekat added.

Israel Radio reported that Israel did not intend to harm Arafat. It said that Israeli forces included giant bulldozers, which were knocking down buildings. The area was declared a closed military zone, banning civilians from entering, and a curfew was declared in the area.

SHORT-TERM INCURSIONS INTO PALESTINIAN TERRITORY TO BE WIDENED

Occupation Army officials meanwhile say short-term incursions into Area A will continue, although the scope following Wednesday's bombing will likely be wider than at any time since the end of Operation Defensive Shield.

A senior official in the Prime Minister's Office said no new policy was adopted at a meeting of the security cabinet just after the Megiddo attack.

That meeting was planned before the attack to deal with intelligence information about the likelihood Hizbullah will try to escalate tensions along the northern border.

OCCUPATION AUTHORITIES CLOSE PALESTINIAN TRADE OFFICE IN JERUSALEM

As part of an ongoing crackdown on Palestinian activity in east Jerusalem, occupation authorities Wednesday closed the Palestinian East Jerusalem Trade Office, which had reopened recently.

It had previously been ordered shut by Internal Security Minister Uzi Landau.

Police briefly detained several workers, Jerusalem police spokesman Kobi Zrihan said.

In February, Landau extended by six months the closure order against Orient House, which had served for more than a decade as the PLO's headquarters in Jerusalem.

Israel originally seized Orient House and ordered it and several other Palestinian offices in the city closed for six months last August, a day after a bomber at the Sbarro pizzeria killed 15 Israelis.

WHITE HOUSE SAYS INCURSION INTO RAMALLAH NOT HELPFUL IN THE PUSH FOR PEACE

A senior White House official said the United States was neither asked for nor did it grant a "green light" for the Israeli action in Ramallah, though it did not appear to be helpful in the push for peace.

White House chief of staff Andrew Card said President Bush was notified of the Israeli action, adding that National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice was looking into the situation.

42 U.S. GOVERNORS BACK ISRAEL

However, forty-two of the US's 50 governors have signed declarations that express support for Israel and endorse its right to live in peace and security, Gov. George Pataki of New York announced Wednesday.

In an effort headed by Pataki, a Republican, and Gov. Gray Davis of California, a Democrat, a declaration of principles was sent out to the nation's governors on April 15, two days before Israel's 54th anniversary.

Although the texts adopted by the Republican governors differs slightly from that adopted by the Democrats, both declarations state their support for Israel and their opposition to so-called "terror attacks", recognize the US and Israel as allies in defense of freedom, and urge all parties in the region to work toward peace.

U.S. HOUSE PANEL TO DISCUSS ARAFAT

At the same time, The House Armed Services Committee's special oversight panel on terrorism has scheduled a hearing Thursday on the question: "Are Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority credible partners for peace?"

Among those invited to testify are former US ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk, now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and director of the new Saban Center for Middle East Policy.

PHOTO CAPTION

An Israeli army jeep and an armored personnel carrier are positioned by the entrance of the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's compound in West Bank town of Ramallah, Thursday, June 6, 2002. Israeli tanks entered Ramallah, surrounding Arafat's compound early Thursday, after a Palestinian bomber blew himself up, killing 17 Israelis. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)