Posted on 05/03/2002 7:09:52 AM PDT by thatcher
Palestinian militants warn British prison monitors
By Anton La Guardia Diplomatic Editor and Alan Philps
(Filed: 03/05/2002)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/05/03/wmid103.xml&sSheet=/news/2002/05/03/ixnewstop.html&secureRefresh=true&_requestid=113460
CONCERN about the safety of British and American prison monitors in Jericho grew last night as Palestinian militants gave warning that the detention of six key prisoners under foreign supervision "will not pass unpunished".
Hours after the international wardens helped to transfer the inmates from Yasser Arafat's besieged Ramallah headquarters to a jail in Jericho, a home-made grenade exploded outside the British Council offices in the Gaza Strip.
The blast did not hurt anybody. But it was a warning, if any were needed, of the dangers facing British and American wardens, particularly if they are seen as Israeli stooges.
As several factions involved in the 20-month Palestinian uprising demanded the prisoners' release, one hardline group put up posters declaring: "Surrendering the heroes of the resistance and the intifada to Israeli and British intelligence and CIA agents will not pass unpunished. Agents of the CIA and their ideologues should leave our land."
The posters, plastered on walls during a meeting of students and intellectuals in Ramallah, were signed by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a Marxist faction counting five inmates among its members.
Andrew Coyle, a former governor of Brixton prison who was part of the advance party to set up the monitoring system, said: "It would be foolish to say there is no risk. We believe there is an acceptable level of risk.
"If we conclude that there is an unacceptable level of risk, we will inform the British consul-general immediately," added Mr Coyle, implying that the foreigners would withdraw at the first sign of trouble.
Jericho was chosen because of its isolation and the relative quiet in the town. The prison is on the edge of town, a five-minute drive from an Israeli checkpoint and within sight of Israeli posts on hilltops nearby.
Four prisoners are Popular Front members convicted by a Palestinian military tribunal of last year's assassination of Rehavam Zeevi, the Israeli tourism minister.
British officials have declined to give details of the identities, organisational structure or living arrangements of the wardens "for security reasons".
They are mostly ex-military, all with experience of prison monitoring in the Balkans. There will be about a dozen Britons, with a smaller number of Americans.
I don't think Arafat will be around much longer.
This was very, very smart! If the terrorists try to breakout their pals, the Israelis can be on them within minutes. I would position several attack choppers and tanks at this checkpoint.
Are the choices divided up merely as days, or as separate hours??
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