Palestine Media Center- (PMC)

Israel entirely sealed off on the West Bank and Gaza Strip on Sunday while several Israeli ministers called for the exile of President Yasser Arafat, following a series of suicide bombings in occupied east Jerusalem and Hebron.

In practice, the closure meant that Israeli occupation troops encircled Palestinian towns and prevented anyone from leaving or entering.

The series of collective punishment hurled on Palestinians has also meant that thousands of Palestinians will not be allowed to enter Israel for jobs.

Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) also imposed stringent curfews on several Palestinian cities and towns, including Ramallah, where Arafat has been besieged in his Presidential headquarters for more than two years.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon indefinitely postponed a Washington trip, earlier scheduled for tomorrow and instead convened his cabinet to weigh a response to the bombings, Israeli sources said.

Several ministers renewed a call for President Arafat’s expulsion in the meeting, but were rebuffed by Sharon, Israeli TV reports said.

However, Israel decided that foreign diplomats and visiting politicians would be banned from seeing Israeli officials if they intend to meet Arafat.

The attacks - three suicide bombings and a shooting - left nine Israelis dead, including two settlers living illegally on annexed West Bank land.

The Palestine National Authority (PNA) condemned the bombings, and said it was serious about putting an end to such violence.

Arafat himself condemned the attacks and refused the Israeli allegations that he was behind Sunday’s blasts.

“You should realize that this is only [an Israeli] propaganda”, he told Fox news.

Arafat also stressed that he is still committed to the “peace of the braves” as well as the “roadmap” despite the “Israeli aggression against our people, towns, cities, and sacred sites”.

IOF Kill Child, Demolish 8 Houses

In the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian child, 13, was killed by IOF, Palestinian medical and security sources said.

Israeli occupation soldiers in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun killed Khaled Nasser, medical sources said. The town was invaded by IOF last week.

IOF also demolished a mosque in Beit Hanoun, witnesses said.

Elsewhere in the Gaza Strip, IOF demolished eight Palestinians’ houses in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah.

IOF forced the inhabitants to leave their houses at gunpoint, witnesses said.

West Banker Detainee Deported to Gaza

Meanwhile, Israeli occupation authorities deported a Palestinian resident of the West Bank to the Gaza Strip after holding him under administrative detention without charge or trial for almost a year.

An Israeli army spokesman claimed Mahmoud al-Sadi was suspected of helping his brother organize suicide bombings for the Islamic Jihad group.

The Israeli decision was issued earlier and signed by the IOF chief in the West Bank but it was blocked for sometime after the detainee’s lawyer appealed to the Israeli high court against the deportation orders.

Al-Sadi’s lawyer said that the deportation of his client “lacks any legal basis” because no charges have been filed against him.

Human rights groups consider such measures as war crimes under the Geneva Conventions.