Gaza City - The wife of the Palestinian leader, Mr Yasser Arafat, accused Israeli border guards of harassing her as she returned to the Gaza Strip from an official function in the West Bank yesterday.
Israeli troops at a checkpoint outside Hebron delayed Ms Arafat's car and an accompanying vehicle of security officers for nearly an hour while they "harassed her and asked for identification and papers in a very hostile manner," her office said.
An Israeli army spokesman denied Ms Arafat had been verbally abused but said her passage through the checkpoint had been delayed because she had no identity papers.