U.S. may veto bid for UN condemnation of jail siege

Haaretz
Mar. 15, 2006

The threat of a U.S. veto hovers over planned closed-door deliberations Wednesday over Qatar's bid for a UN Security Council to condemn Israel's Jericho jail siege and its capture of the killers of former cabinet minister Rehavam Ze'evi.

A draft statement by Qatari Ambassador Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, representing Arab nations, would have condemned "Israel's violent incursion" in besieging the Jericho jail, and would have demanded that Israel return the prisoners it seized "and to return the situation to that which existed prior to the Israeli military attack."

Security forces went on high alert Tuesday fearing Palestinian reprisal attacks after Israel Defense Forces troops laid siege to the Jericho prison and arrested six wanted inmates.

A tense, gunfire-punctuated nine-hour IDF siege of a Jericho prison complex ended after dark on Tuesday with the abrupt surrender of Ahmed Sa'adat and five other Palestinian militants.

Sa'adat, leader of the Popular Front for Liberation of Palestine, is believed to have ordered the assassination of cabinet minister Rehavam Ze'evi in a Jerusalem hotel in 2001.

One of the other militants was Fuad Shobaki, the alleged mastermind of an illegal mass weapons shipment to the Palestinian Authority in 2002.

The six arrested wanted militants are to be held in prison in Israel, officials said.

The PFLP threatened
that "Israel will pay a heavy price for the operation."

Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert spoke with Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz and asked them to keep military forces on high alert.

In New York, council diplomats said the 15-nation council would discuss the draft behind closed doors on Wednesday after Al-Nasser revised it overnight in response to council members' initial comments, diplomats said.

Palestinian UN Observer Riyad Mansour called on the council to "uphold international law" by supporting the Qatari measure. He said the Israeli raid grew out of "a desire to negate the Palestinian elections" won by Hamas.

But the text would almost certainly face a veto from the United States, Israel's closest ally, if brought to a vote in
its current form, the diplomats said.

The drama began early in the day, when American and British monitors supervising the detention of the six left the prison. The monitors had been stationed there as part of a compromise reached between Israel and the PA, which had guaranteed Israel that it would keep Ze'evi's killers behind bars.

The monitors were withdrawn in response to a statement last week by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who said that he was prepared to free Sa'adat, drawing an angry response from Israel. Abbas said Tuesday that the British and American monitors bore "full responsibility" for the raid.

One of the five PFLP members had vowed earlier on Tuesday that the group would not surrender.

"Our prison is surrounded on all sides by Israelis. They are asking us over loudspeaker to come out," Ahed Abu Ghoulmi, one of the targeted prisoners. "We will not come out under any circumstances."

"We are not going to surrender. We are going to face our destiny with courage," Sa'adat later told the Arab satellite channel Al-Jazeera.

Security Council issues milder statement
As a result of the dispute over the wording of the UN resolution, the council issued a milder statement Tuesday afternoon. It expressed concern about an upsurge in violence, urged all sides to exercise restraint, and called for the release of foreigners who were kidnapped in retaliation.

Representing Arab nations on the council and backed by the Palestinian
government, Qatar distributed a draft presidential statement that would call on Israel to end its "continued onslaught" against the Palestinian-run prison.

A second, milder resolution is expected to be introduced on Wednesday.

Mofaz: No politics in timing of operation
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz of Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Kadima party Wednesday dismissed criticism of the Jericho siege as politically motivated.

The timing of the siege was tied entirely to decisions by the Palestinians, and had nothing to do with the fact that elctions are two weeks away.

Asked if there was such a link, Mofaz told Army Radio:

"Certainly not. About a week before, we knew that it could happen any day, after the [British] sent a clear letter that the Palestinians were violating the agreement, but did someone plan the timing of this??

"We didn't know that Ahmed Sa'adat would be freed. That was the decision of [Hamas leader and PA prime minister-designate] Ismail Haniyeh. We didn't decide that the British and American monitors would leave, in fear for their safety, in view of the fact that a Hamas government was about to arise.

Asked if the IDF would have acted in any case, had the monitors remained in place, Mofaz said "If the monitors had remained in place and watched over what was happening there, apparently not. I say apparently, because we don?t know how things would have unfolded in the future.?

The evening surrender that came at 6:45 P.M. followed heavy gunfire directed at the prison complex. Large numbers of soldiers surrounded the prison, where six Palestinian militants were jailed.

Three Palestinians were reportedly killed in exchanges of fire with IDF soldiers. GOC Central Command Yair Naveh expressed regret at their deaths, noting the operation was not aimed at the PA security forces, but rather at arresting the six wanted inmates.