Israel sealed off West Bank and Gaza Strip, sent reinforcements to the two areas and tightened security at Jewish settlements Thursday just hours after Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's death.

"The Israeli Defense Forces are deploying to allow a dignified funeral ceremony for Chairman Arafat," said Israeli military radio.

According to the blanket close-off plan, only Palestinians with necessary permits will be allowed to attend Arafat's burial scheduled for Saturday in Ramallah, a West Bank city Arafat's headquarters was located, said Israeli military officials.

Such restriction meant no Palestinians will be able to enter Israel unless they have special permits from Israel.

The 75-year-old Arafat died at a French military hospital at 3:30 AM local time (02:30GMT) on Thursday. The body of Arafat will be flown to Cairo, capital of Egypt, for a funeral scheduled for Friday. After the memorial service, Arafat's body would be flown to Ramallah.

(Xinhua News Agency November 11, 2004)