Britain and US complicit in Jericho raid, says Abbas

Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, condemned the armed Israeli raid on Jericho's prison as an "ugly crime that cannot be forgiven" on Mar. 15 and strongly implied Britain and the US had been complicit in it. Touring the ruins of the devastated jail less than 24 hours after the surrender of six wanted Palestinians after a day-long siege, Abbas said their arrest had been "illegal" and that the raid by troops, bulldozers and tanks had been a "humiliation for the Palestinian people and a violation of all the agreements." In an uncharacteristically strong denunciation of Britain and the US, Abbas said that the Israeli force had arrived within 10 minutes of the three British monitors abandoning the jail. "I'm giving the facts," he added. The British, who vigorously deny complicity with Israel over the withdrawal of the monitors, say they told no one of the exact timing of the withdrawal of the monitors. While some Palestinian ministers have argued the raid was designed to boost Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's fortunes, other observers have pointed out that it was a gamble since if it had gone wrong–or if there are further retaliations before the Mar. 28 elections–that could help the Likud party at the expense of Olmert's Kadima.