Destruction Cripples Palestinian Ministries

As Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared an end to Israel’s three-week invasion of the West Bank to root out terrorists, top Palestinian ministers returning to their offices for the first time in weeks Sunday were greeted by scenes of devastation in government buildings in this de facto capital.

Israeli soldiers apparently destroyed numerous Palestinian Authority offices during their weekend pullout from the West Bank, hobbling crucial civic functions such as education and public works.

In ministry after ministry, computers, photocopiers and other electronic machines were heaped in piles, destroyed by explosions and fire. Important files were missing. Telephones were smashed. Pictures were ripped from the walls.

Palestinian officials were just beginning to assess the damage from the Israeli offensive. But partial estimates placed losses as high as $450 million.

“The main reason for all the destruction is to kill the spirit of the Palestinian people and show the power and force of the Israelis,” Azam Ahmad, the minister of public works, said as he walked through his shattered office. “They want to take us back many years in history so we will lose hope, but we are a people who have learned to endure.”

Israeli army officials acknowledged searching the ministries but denied any attempt to deliberately cripple public services. They also denied using explosives to destroy computers or documents.

They said they were forced to enter the buildings after discovering links between Palestinian terrorists and Palestinian Authority government offices. They acknowledged taking documents from some of the offices for intelligence purposes but denied claims of unnecessary destruction.

“We searched them because we had to search them. In these searches, there’s a certain amount of disruption,” said one military official. “We do not know of wanton damage.”

The United Nations is planning a meeting in Oslo this week to seek pledges for funds to help the Palestinians rebuild. Since the Palestinian Authority was created after the 1993 Oslo accords, donor nations have contributed more than $3 billion to build up the Palestinian government and nonprofit organizations.

But still more money will be needed in the wake of the widespread destruction left behind by the Israeli invasion, which began March 29. Tanks tore up streets. Schools, hospitals, homes and stores were hit by rockets, shells and bullets. Electricity poles collapsed. Water mains were destroyed.

Limited Access Delays Full Tally of Damage

One Palestinian official said every single ministry building was vandalized except the ministries of planning and youth and sports. The U.N. said it would take at least a week to reach a final tally, since Israeli soldiers continued blocking entry into some areas.

“Access is still difficult,” said one U.N. official.

The extent of damage to the offices emerged as Sharon announced that the offensive in the West Bank had officially ended after severely disrupting the terrorist network responsible for a wave of suicide bombings in Israel. He promised more action in the future but was not specific.

“We have completed this stage of the operation,” Sharon said while visiting a Jerusalem supermarket. “The struggle against terrorism continues and will continue, but this time it will work in a different method.”

Israeli soldiers have withdrawn in the last few days from several West Bank cities, including Jenin, Nablus and much of Ramallah.

On Sunday, troops remained around Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat’s compound in Ramallah and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, where scores of Palestinians sought refuge after the invasion began.

Late Thursday, five Palestinians with white flags emerged from the church and were quickly taken away for questioning by Israeli security officials. It was unclear who the five Palestinians were, but sources inside the church said the men were fleeing because they had injuries or were tired of the standoff.

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, who returned to Washington on Thursday from a 10-day trip to the region, said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that he was pleased with the partial Israeli withdrawal over the weekend but “not completely satisfied” with the ongoing presence of tanks and troops in Palestinian areas.

He promised relief for the Jenin refugee camp, site of the fiercest fighting, and asked the Israelis to give Arafat more access to the outside world.

“I would like to see the withdrawal continue until there’s no question about it. . . . I would ultimately like to see those units back in their garrisons and not poised in the way they are. And I would like to see the cities opened up, so that we can start to see normal life resume, and so that there are no restrictions with respect to the provision of humanitarian aid,” he said.

Ministry of Higher Education officials said neighbors had told them that Israeli soldiers entered their office shortly after 8 p.m. Friday. The neighbors reported seeing soldiers blast their way into the building, then hearing 13 explosions during the course of the night.

Staff Member Tours His Ruined Office

On Sunday, the offices were a shambles. On all six floors, the pattern seemed the same. Computer monitors, printers and photo-copiers--all purchased with international aid money--were pulled off desks and piled in a central room. Many computers were missing their hard drives.

The electronic equipment had either been smashed with a heavy object or charred by flames. On the top floor of the ministry, a crater could be seen in the floor, and windows on all sides were blown out. On some floors, files were scattered, while other files were simply missing.

Gabriel Baramki, an educational consultant in the Ministry of Higher Education and former university president, seemed near tears as he toured the remains of his office.

“You can’t help but cry when you see it,” said Baramki, as he stepped across broken glass and smashed computers. “They have taken us at least 10 or 15 years backward.”

The Ministry of Higher Education provides administrative support to Palestinian universities, which the Israeli government sees as hotbeds of Palestinian activism. But the military source said the Israeli government wanted to keep Palestinian civilian institutions intact.

“The goal of this operation was not to destroy the Palestinian Authority’s civilian infrastructure. That has to be made clear,” the official said.

Damage to the Ministry of Public Works was even more puzzling. One room on the top floor seemed to have been blasted by a helicopter rocket. The outside window was blackened, while a conference room inside was completely charred.

Down the hall on the fourth floor, the minister’s offices were simply vandalized. Couches and chairs were slashed, the stuffing spilling out. A map of the region had the West Bank torn out. Even the minister’s personal toilet was shattered.

‘We Don’t Want to Turn . . . Into a Museum’

Ahmad, the minister, seemed dazed as he wandered through his offices.

“Why? Why?” he asked repeatedly. But he vowed to get the ministry, responsible for roads and sewers, working again within a week.

“We don’t want to turn ourselves into a museum. Life continues. We cannot stop,” Ahmad said.

A short distance away, the Ministry of Education and the Palestinian Legislative Council also suffered damage. Israelis have accused Palestinians of producing schoolbooks filled with anti-Israel propaganda.

Naim abu Hommos, the acting education minister, said 150 soldiers in tanks and armored personnel carriers broke into the ministry building April 3 and a second time April 14.

He said that employees had offered to open doors with their keys but that soldiers sometimes ignored them and forced their way in. In the ministry’s treasury department, ceiling tiles were scattered on the floor. Some files were pulled off the shelves. And, Abu Hommos said, more than $8,000 in petty cash was missing.

At least 47 schools are said to have been damaged across the Palestinian educational system, which has 1 million students and 45,000 teachers. Abu Hommos said he was still trying to tally how many students were killed or injured in the invasion.

He smiled sadly when asked what effect the destruction had.

“The Israelis lost,” he said. “They are teaching another generation not to believe in them.”

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Times staff writer Robin Wright in Washington contributed to this report.

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