Jericho events were sparked by Hamas victory

The events that culminated in yesterday's attack on the Jericho jail began about three weeks ago, when, due to Hamas' victory in the Palestinian elections, the British and American governments informed Israel that they intended to remove their jailers from Jericho. The British-American team was stationed in Jericho under the terms of a May 2002 agreement to guard six senior wanted men: five suspects in the murder of former minister Rehavam Ze'evi plus Fuad Shubeiki, Fatah's financial kingpin.

Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, in consultation with Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and senior defense officials, decided that if the British and Americans left, the Israel Defense Forces would enter and arrest the six men. However, there was no cabinet meeting on the subject, or even a telephone vote.

Olmert's adviser, Dov Weissglas, told the British and Americans that Israel would prefer them to remain, but if they decided that they had to remove their personnel out of fear for their safety, they should be aware that Israeli troops would enter "to bring the wanted men to justice in Israel."

According to government sources, Israel has complained repeatedly over the last year that the Palestinians were violating the 2002 agreement. One complaint, accompanied by a threat of Israeli intervention, was even submitted in writing. However, as long as the British and Americans were there, Israel refrained from acting, out of fear that they would be injured.

Then, a few weeks ago, Hamas leaders began saying that they planned to release the Jericho prisoners. Mofaz threatened that if that happened, Israel would rearrest them. But what finally sparked Israel's operational preparations was when the Palestinian Authority began releasing Islamic Jihad operatives from jails in the territories, and, at about the same time, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said that the PA should consider freeing the Jericho prisoners as well.

Last Wednesday, the British and American consuls in Jerusalem sent a letter to Abbas informing him that they were cancelling the 2002 agreement. The Palestinian Authority never fully implemented the agreement, the consuls charged; it "consistently failed to comply with core provisions of the Jericho monitoring arrangements regarding visitors, cell searches, telephone access and correspondence. Furthermore, the Palestinian Authority has failed to provide secure conditions for the US and UK personnel working at the Jericho Prison."

Moreover, the letter implied, Hamas' electoral victory has made the situation even worse: "The pending handover of governmental power to a political party that has repeatedly called for the release of the Jericho detainees also calls into question the political sustainability of the monitoring mission." They therefore gave Abbas an ultimatum: Either implement the agreement in full, at once, or reach a different agreement with Israel. And should he fail to do either, "we will have to terminate our involvement with the Jericho monitoring mission and withdraw our monitors with immediate effect."

Israel was informed that the British and American jailers would leave Jericho by March 15, but other than that, government sources said, there was no coordination between Jerusalem and Washington and London. Yesterday morning, while Olmert and Mofaz were campaigning in Ariel, they were notified that the British and Americans had left. At that point, the IDF operation began.

Afterward, Livni spoke with her counterparts in the U.S., Britain, Spain, Egypt and Jordan, and none of them condemned the operation.