Emergency in self-rule areas - Arafat declares

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat ordered the arrest of members of militant Muslim groups July 31, following a double suicide bombing blast that killed 16 people in a Jerusalem market, a PLO security official said.

"A state emergency has been declared in all Palestinian areas. Arafat ordered the arrest of activists in extremist groups, especially Hamas, who declared responsibility for the blast and also to arrest Islamic Jihad group members as a suspect sect. The arrests started July 31.