JERUSALEM (AP) - An explosion went off Wednesday in an orchard in northern Israel, near the frontier with the West Bank, but there were no immediate reports of injuries, police said. It was not immediately clear what caused the blast. Police spokesman Yossi Hasson said it was possible that a bomb intended for an attack in Israel exploded prematurely.



PALESTINIAN FORTIFY ARAFAT'S HQ

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - Palestinians are laboring around the clock to clean up Yasser Arafat's battered compound, stacking up smashed cars and makeshift sandbags as a protective wall. But much work remains 10 days after Israel ended its latest siege.

Israeli tanks crashed into Arafat's city-block-sized headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah on Sept. 19 after a Palestinian resistance bomber blew up a Tel Aviv bus, killing six people. The Israelis, using bulldozers and explosives, systematically knocked down one building after another, leaving only a few standing - including Arafat's office.

The Israelis withdrew Sept. 29 after intense U.S. pressure, and the cleanup began almost immediately. Just clearing the rubble is a major undertaking, and officials say reconstructing the compound would cost millions, far more than Arafat's cash-strapped regime has available.

"I can't describe the destruction inside, it's huge," said Mohammed Fouad, one of the workers at the compound Tuesday. "They destroyed everything, the kitchen, the walls, the electricity, everything."

The first order of business appears to be to protect Arafat from Israeli occupation snipers, who sometimes take up positions in buildings with a view of the office. Palestinians put little stock in assurances from Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that Arafat won't be harmed by Israel.

Workers are using unusual building materials as barricades: cars squashed by Israeli tanks. The expensive European cars that once ferried Palestinian officials between home and office now are flattened wrecks piled more than 4 feet high, blocking the view. Sandbags and chunks of concrete are stacked around the buildings.

When greeting visitors, Arafat does not step beyond the wall of sandbags outside the entrance to his office.

The Palestinian Authority has only 300,000 dlrs in donations for the repairs, Palestinian Minister for Construction Azzam Ahmad said. Work will be limited to fixing three heavily damaged buildings that still stand, he said.

Also, workers will reconstruct the bridge that connected Arafat's office to the meeting hall in the building next door, Ahmad said. The bridge was destroyed during Israel's siege.

"I think we will manage to have a suitable place for (Arafat) to welcome his visitors and to continue his work," he said.

He hoped Arab nations would donate more funds for the project, though some have not come through with funds they pledged earlier, he said.

Israeli engineer Israel Goodovitch, 69, known for unusual solutions to engineering and architectural problems, watched as Ramallah municipal workers installed new water pipes and spliced electric wires.

"I came here to look at the destruction of the compound," said Goodovitch, a former Tel Aviv chief engineer. "I was invited by Palestinian colleagues and friends to find a way to help in rebuilding the site."


PHOTO CAPTION

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is seen outside the sandbag covered entrance of his offices in the West Bank city of Ramallah after a meeting with foreign diplomats Wednesday Oct. 9 2002. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)