Posted on 03/15/2006 1:58:49 AM PST by MadIvan
Britain was at the heart of an escalation in Middle East violence last night after its monitors left a Palestinian jail and the Israelis then seized a militant leader inside.
The Foreign Office said the team of three monitors was withdrawn from the jail in the Dead Sea town of Jericho early yesterday morning out of fears for their security.
As they left, the Israeli army moved in, using infantry, helicopter gunships, tanks and bulldozers to seize several inmates it accuses of masterminding the 2001 assassination of an Israeli minister.
The assault, which destroyed much of the jail and ended with the wanted men's surrender, prompted violent protests and kidnapping of westerners throughout Gaza and the West Bank. Two British Council buildings were ransacked and set on fire, with one almost destroyed, though no British staff were injured.
More than a dozen westerners were reported taken hostage by enraged gunmen and though some were quickly released, at least two were being held last night.
Palestinian anger was stoked by the fact that Israeli soldiers surrounded the jail within minutes of the departure of the monitors, sparking accusations of collaboration between Britain and Israel.
But Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, insisted there was "no collusion" with the Israelis and said he had considered the pull-out a year ago.
British monitors have been at the jail since a 2002 agreement which allowed Palestinian prisoners to be held under Palestinian control, with international supervision. The several hundred inmates included Ahmed Saadat, the head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestinian (PFLP), whom Israel accuses of ordering the killing of its tourism minister, Rehavam Zeevi, in 2001.
But Britain had long been concerned at the way Saadat and his followers were held and Mr Straw yesterday said UK monitors could no longer enter parts of the jail and were trying to watch from a roof.
The timing of the withdrawal, two weeks before Israel's general election, was extremely sensitive.
The successful outcome of the raid will boost Israel's acting prime minister, Ehud Olmert, who is determined to establish his security credentials for the March 28 poll.
Foreign Office concerns have mounted since January, when the militant group Hamas won Palestinian elections and soon promised to free Saadat.
But the breaking point came last Wednesday when the British Consul in Jerusalem, John Jenkins, wrote to President Mahmoud Abbas warning him of imminent action, though without a deadline.
"We have been in contact with Mr Abbas and his office every day since last Wednesday," said a British official.
"We were very explicit every day that it was a very serious situation and extremely urgent action was needed and they understood that."
After the British left the Jericho jail, Mr Abbas said this had triggered the violence. He cut short a European trip to return to the Palestinian territories.
Palestinians called for a general strike while the PFLP promised retaliation against Israel. Whether the group, which is one of the smaller Palestinian factions, has the ability to strike at Israel remains in doubt. But the inability of Mr Abbas to meet UK demands was a much more serious failure, from a man once viewed by Downing Street and Washington as a key partner in peace negotiations.
Ping!
To be honest, I start to feel there is something seriously wrong with Islam itself that makes almost every adherent bahave like nuts. What we witness on TV isn't how normal people will behave.
I simply don't care what they want. Israel ought to grease the treads of their tanks with Palestinian innards for all I care. We've been dealing with the garbage of these fools for over 50 years, and there comes a point where one should declare war on it, blast them to hell and sing Alleluia.
Regards, Ivan
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
I have nothing but high regard for Israel. I regard them as the outpost of civilisation in that region, and as such, they should be allowed to do whatever is necessary to crush the barbarians at their doorstep.
Regards, Ivan
You bet give them a state because once they are a state they can be stopped. Until they are, they are this protected, poor downtrodden people in the eyes of the liberal world. Israel should DEMAND they become a state and the first time they shoot a rocket into Israel they should be bombed off the planet.
The term rabid palesimians comes to mind..
Take that weapon away from them and and you have a whole new ballgame, one that can be won.
Well: whatever you do, dont stop sending them aid money. S/
Yes, but they make decisions that sometimes make it hard to be friends - especially when they violate treaties.
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Regards, Ivan"
Well, okay!
"The West has given more significance to the myth of the genocide of the Jews, even more significant than God, religion, and the prophets...."Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Holocaust Chronicle ~
"Palestine is the wrong name for their State. It should be called Anarchy."FReeper sgtbono2002
"Then let's wait and see what the Arabs do after they take Gaza. There's nothing like Arab reality to break up a Jewish fantasy."FReeper Noachian
A student told his professor he was going to "Palestine" to "fight for freedom, peace and justice,"Orwellian leftist code words that mean "murder Jews."
The Nature Of Bruce ~
Trying to deal with these vermin is insane. Even their fellow Arabs shun the human scum.
You don't have to feel it... you can prove it very easily, just read the Koran - if you can fight through the horror and revulsion of its commands to its followers.
"For daring to torch a British building, we ought to kill the little bastards. Though admittedly that's one offense on a very long list."
Bump dat.
Oh certainly yes. Unfortunately most people believe on what they "feel" i.e. what they perceive as truth from sensory sources eg watching TV or reading, or listening from radip, etc.
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