Editing Operation Defensive Shield (section)

===Ramallah===
{{see also|Arafat's Compound}}
[[File:חומת מגן 5.jpg|thumb|Israeli soldiers in Ramallah]]
IDF infantry and armor entered [[Ramallah]] on March 29 and entered the [[Mukataa]], Yasser Arafat's presidential compound. The Israelis forced their way through the compound's perimeter and quickly occupied it. Arafat was given refuge in a few of the compound's rooms, along with assorted advisors, security personnel and journalists. In an effort to isolate Arafat physically and diplomatically, access to the compound was restricted, and Arafat was not allowed to leave. The IDF occupied the city after several hours of street fighting in which some 30 Palestinians were killed. Ramallah was then placed under a tight curfew as soldiers conducted searches and made arrests. The IDF arrested more than 700 people, among them [[Marwan Barghouti]], a top Palestinian militant leader suspected of directing numerous suicide bombings and other attacks against Israelis. Barghouti was later tried in Israel and sentenced to life imprisonment. The day after Marwan Barghouti's arrest, Taleb Barghouti was arrested.

On April 2, Israeli tanks and [[Armored personnel carrier|APCs]] surrounded the headquarters of the [[Preventive Security Force]] in nearby [[Beitunia]] as Israeli helicopter gunships flew overhead. Hundreds of heavily armed police officers and prisoners wanted by Israel were inside. Israeli troops used loudspeakers to announce that the compound's four buildings were to be destroyed and demand that everyone inside step out. Hundreds of police officers and fugitives emerged from the compound and surrendered to the Israeli army, and the facility was damaged by rockets. The Israelis extensively searched the facility and uncovered numerous incriminating documents, including a plan to recruit female Israeli soldiers as spies.<ref name="zionism-israel">{{cite web|url=http://www.zionism-israel.com/dic/Defensive_Shield.htm|title=Operation Defensive Shield|access-date=19 December 2014}}</ref> Weapons stolen from the IDF were also discovered.<ref>Sharon, Gilad (2011): ''Sharon: The Life of a Leader''. </ref>

The Israelis forced the hundreds of policemen and fugitives who surrendered to strip naked, fearing that some were armed or packed with explosives. They were then given jumpsuits, loaded onto buses and taken to [[Ofer Prison]]. [[Shin Bet]] asked [[Jibril Rajoub]], head of the Preventive Security Force, to point out which men were police officers and which were fugitives. Rajoub instead identified his policemen as fugitives and the fugitives as policemen, and the fugitives were all released. Shin Bet retaliated by releasing an official account that branded Rajoub as a traitor for turning over the fugitives in a [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]]-brokered deal, costing Rajoub his job.<ref>Hassan Yusef, Mosab: ''Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, and Political Intrigue''.</ref>

The UN report on the subject noted: "It was not only the Palestinian people whose movement was restricted during Operation Defensive Shield. In many instances, humanitarian workers were not able to reach people in need to assess conditions and deliver necessary assistance because of the sealing of cities, refugee camps and villages during the operation. There were also cases of Israeli forces not respecting the neutrality of medical and humanitarian workers and attacking ambulances."<ref name="UNMay7"/>

In reply to these complaints, the IDF stated that the curfew was placed in order to prevent civilians from being caught in gunfights and getting hurt. Palestinian ambulances were stopped for checks following the discovery of an [[explosive belt]] in a [[International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement|Red Crescent]] [[ambulance]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Peace/ambulances.html|title=Al-Aqsa Intifada: IDF Checkpoints & Palestinian Ambulances|publisher=Jewish Virtual Library|date=June 2002}}</ref>