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History See other History Articles Title: Abbas Condemns Israel Raid As Unforgivable Crime JERICHO, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday condemned Israel's raid on a West Bank prison and seizure of a militant leader as a crime that would not be forgiven. Across the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, Palestinians went on strike over an Israeli operation that has boosted interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ahead of March 28 general elections. Israeli security forces were on high alert after Ahmed Saadat's Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Islamist militant group Hamas promised retaliation. Israeli forces used tanks and bulldozers to tear apart the Jericho jail on Tuesday to grab Saadat, accused by Israel of overseeing the 2001 assassination of Israeli cabinet minister Rehavam Zeevi claimed by the PFLP. Speaking at the destroyed jail, Abbas accused British and U.S. monitors supervising the incarceration of Saadat and five other militants who were detained of complicity with Israel. "What happened is an ugly crime which cannot be forgiven and a humiliation for the Palestinian people and a violation of all the agreements. Their arrest by Israel is illegal," Abbas said. The United States and Britain, citing security concerns, withdrew the monitors on Tuesday and Israeli forces moved in minutes later. Both Washington and London denied cooperating with Israel. Israel said it had to act once the monitors withdrew and it described the raid as a powerful message to Hamas, which is forming a government after winning a January election. Washington and London denied cooperating with Israel. "We are not going to compromise with terror. We are proud that we have imposed justice on these killers without hurting unfairly any other person who was not involved," Olmert told reporters during a meeting with police chiefs in Jerusalem. SECURITY CREDENTIALS Political rivals and newspapers in Israel agreed the 10-hour operation was a success for Olmert, strengthening his security credentials before the election his centrist Kadima party is expected to win. Abbas appealed to Palestinians not to abduct foreigners or damage international property in response to the raid, in which a Palestinian guard and a prisoner were killed. A group of foreigners kidnapped in Gaza were released on Wednesday. They included three journalists -- two French nationals and a South Korean -- and a Canadian whose seizure had not previously been known. They were among 10 foreigners taken in Palestinian areas. The six others were freed soon after they were snatched. In Gaza, shops were shuttered and many children returned home after they arrived at closed schools. Shops in major West Bank towns were also closed. A Hamas spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, said the raid reinforced the group's decision not to recognise Israel and disarm. "This crime will not pass without a reaction," Zuhri said at a news conference in Gaza with various Palestinian faction members and Hamas prime minister-designate Ismail Haniyeh. The raid was another headache for Abbas, already shaken by Hamas's election win. Hamas is sworn to Israel's destruction. Abbas demanded the return of Saadat and the five others. Olmert said they would be tried and "punished as they deserve". Saadat, 51, was sent to Jericho jail in 2002 under an internationally-brokered deal that ended an Israeli siege that year of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's compound in Ramallah, where the PFLP leader was taking refuge. The PFLP, one of the smaller groups waging a Palestinian uprising, said it shot Zeevi, a far-right former general, to avenge the killing of its top leader, Abu Ali Mustafa, in an Israeli missile strike. Israel's seizure of the grey-haired Saadat followed suggestions by Hamas and Abbas that he might be freed. (Additional reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza, Besan Omary in Ramallah and Ori Lewis in Jerusalem)
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