(New York Times) Steven Erlanger and Greg Myre - Israeli military forces besieged a Palestinian prison in Jericho for 10 hours on Tuesday before seizing six Palestinian inmates. The men - five of whom were wanted in the assassination of Rehavam Zeevi, the Israeli tourism minister, in 2001 - had been held for four years in an unusual arrangement that involved the U.S. and Britain. Palestinian leaders had hinted recently at freeing them. The raid unleashed a wave of anger among Palestinians. Mobs attacked sites linked to Western countries. Gunmen in Gaza entered aid agencies, hotels, and news offices looking for Westerners to kidnap. Eight American and 12 British monitors worked at the jail. Neither the U.S. nor Britain told Israel or the Palestinians when they intended to withdraw, "for operational reasons," a senior American official said.
2006-03-14 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive