MR Yasser Arafat took office as the first Palestinian president yesterday, facing fresh disputes with Israel and the discontent of his own people at Palestinian security forces.
Placing his right hand on the Qur'an, the 66 year old Mr Arafat vowed to be faithful to the homeland, uphold the law and maintain the interests of the Palestinian people.
The PLO leader won a landslide victory, defeating a little known opponent in a January 20th poll, to head an interim government and 88 member legislative council over self rule areas ceded by Israel.
Hours before his swearing in the Gaza Strip, Israeli troops closed off two PLO controlled West Bank towns and scuffled with Palestinian students and lecturers trying to reach their campus near one of them.
On Sunday, Palestinian anger at policemen using excessive force boiled over into a stone throwing protest in the West Bank city of Nablus, handed over to PLO rule by Israel last year.
The Mayor of Nablus, Mr Ghassan al Shakaa, said: "The incident was a popular reaction to the performance of some police officers and was exploited by some elements to escalate tensions."
Early yesterday Israel sealed off the PLO controlled West Bank cities of Ramallah and Qalqilya for an indefinite period, citing security reasons.
Israel withdrew from six West Bank cities last year under a self rule deal with the PLO. The organisation also gained administrative control of hundreds of villages, with the Israelis keeping their grip on security.
In Bethlehem on the West Bank, some 200 Palestinians demonstrated against Israel's construction of a wall near a Jewish shrine, the tomb of the biblical matriarch Rachel, which remained in Israeli hands after army redeployment.
Palestinians said the wall would divide the main street and choke up traffic. Israel said it would bolster security for Jewish worshippers who go to pray at the tomb.
In Gaza, Israel and the PLO resolved a dispute that had halted construction of a Palestinian airport. The standoff had brought security forces from both sides to the verge of a confrontation, according to the PLO.
A PLO official, Mr Ahmed Korei, said: "We agreed that construction of the airport and runway would continue."