Arafat 'link to bombers found'

Israel has given the US papers found in the West Bank showing Yasser Arafat financed and supervised terrorist attacks, the New York Times reports today.

The material also links suicide bomb attacks to the Palestinian 0ffice of Preventive Security, which has the support of Washington.

A senior Israeli official said mortars and heavy machineguns, as well as equipment for suicide bombers, were found at the headquarters of Jabril Rajoub, head of the office.

Palestinian officials say the papers are forgeries but the Israelis say the papers show Mr Arafat and his deputy approved payments to the al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which has taken responsibility for suicide raids.

Some papers were found in the office of Fuad Shubaki, Mr Arafat's financial aide, linked to the efforts to buy weapons from Iran.

An appeal from the Brigades for money was dated 16 September, five days after the attacks in the US.

It was a request for funds for bomb-making equipment. The Times quotes Israeli military officers as saying they found a receipt in Mr Shubaki's office for 20 rocket-propelled grenades, long popular with Arab militants.

Suicide raids by the al Aqsa Brigades started in November.