The Palestinian Authority pledged to protect the international wardens of Mr. Sa’adat. Hamas has been threatening to release Sa’adat from jail in Jericho. Palestinian Authority Chairman has publicly gone on record saying that under certain conditions he has no intellectual problems with the concept of releasing Mr. Sa’adat from the Jericho jail and would only do so once he receives a letter from the polit-bureau of the PFLP acknowledging that the Palestinian Authority has no responsibility for protecting Mr. Sa’adat once he was released.
Early Tuesday morning the Palestinian Authority run jail withdrew security measures for the international wardens. The United States and Britain removed their wardens from the jail. The Jerusalem Post is now reporting that the IDF has not only surrounded the Jericho jail but is in the process of a tactical assault on the facility with the expressed purpose of capturing Sa’adat and his cohorts.
IDF troops entered Jericho early this morning in what appears to be an operation aimed at capturing the killers of former Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze'evi who are held in a city prison. According to the Associated Press, the soldiers surrounded the Palestinian jail, amid conflicting reports over whether a top Palestinian prisoner, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PLFP) leader, had been released or captured.
The prisoner, Ahmed Sa'adat, is being held for his involvement in ordering the assassination of an Ze'evi in 2001. Under the arrangement, he is guarded by British and US wardens, in addition to Palestinian jailers. Sami Musallam, the governor of Jericho, said he was told Sa'adat was still in his cell and that IDF forces were trying to snatch him. He said the American and British guards had withdrawn before the Israeli forces entered.
According to some reports, the soldiers have already entered the facility. Eyewitnesses said two helicopter gun ships and three tanks were covering the army's forces on the ground. Israel Radio reported that the soldiers also evacuated students and teachers from a nearby school. A bulldozer was also seen on site. Sources in Jerusalem said that once it became evident that the killers of Ze'evi would be released by the Hamas-led PA government, there was no other choice but to take action.
The Israelis warned the Palestinian Authority in clear and easy to understand language what they would do if the Palestinian Authority sent any signals that Sa’adat’s release was imminent. Refusing to provide security for the American and British wardens was in direct violation with the agreement the Palestinian Authority signed and can reasonable construed as a clear signal of Sa’adat’s imminent release.
No comments:
Post a Comment