Israel Raids Palestinian Jail to Capture PFLP Leader Saadat

The latest battle in Jericho was a more one-sided affair than the one in which Joshua fought. Israeli tanks and helicopters went after a jail in Palestinian territory to lay their hands on Ahmed Saadat, (a/k/a Abu Ghassan) leader of the marginally important Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, while the Palestinians watched and then protested. With elections in Israel a couple of weeks away, it was time for the current regime to look tough.

Mr. Saadat became General Secretary of the PFLP after its leader, Abu Ali Mustafa, was killed by the Israelis, who attacked his office with missiles. Revenge for this killing was one of the first things Mr. Saadat promised the people of Palestine, which is far less nourishing than food, less rewarding that a healthy economy, but less trouble than offering political leadership. Sure enough, right after he took over control of the PFLP, the group murdered Israeli tourist minister Rehavam Zeevi, a right-winger who Eichmann-like advocated the forced transfer of Palestinians (whom he compared to “lice” and “cancer”) from the West Bank and Gaza to other Arab countries.

The late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat had Mr. Saadat arrested in January 2002, for reasons that speak more of politics than jurisprudence. The High Court of Justice in Gaza ordered his release for lack of evidence, but there he was in a Jericho prison, four years after his arrest. So, why would the Israelis not leave him there?

Hamas won the recent Palestinian election, and it has threatened Israel in loads of ways, including a promise to release Mr. Saadat. The Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has said he would consider letting the prisoner go (after four years without due process). With the Israeli government about to be re-elected (if polls are to be believed), it was time to act so as to secure as many seats as possible while keeping Mr. Saadat on ice.

After initially holding out in the prison, swearing to fight the Israelis to the death on Al-Jazeera, Mr. Saadat surrendered to the Israelis after dark last night. Perhaps now, he can get a trial, or a charge or something that looks like a legal process. Meanwhile, the US and UK are taking the blame in the Palestinian territories because their monitors left the prison area shortly before the attack sighting security weaknesses. Is it any wonder that peace in the region remains so elusive? To achieve peace, someone is going to have to actually try, and there’s no sign of that yet.

© Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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