Palestine - Renewed violence after Israel attack prison

Ahmad Saadat spoke by phone on Al-Jazeera
Rolling news has been dominated today with further troubles in Palestine and the Gaza strip. Israeli forces moved on a prison this morning where Ahmad Saadat and a number of other militants. But the storming of the prison, situated in Jericho near the Jordanian border, Palestinians reacted angrily [BBC]
The Israeli attack on the prison with helicopter gunships, tanks and bulldozers was initiated after US and British monitors withdrew from the area. Palestinians, seeing the withdrawal as being hand in hand with the Israeli action, attacked the British Council building in Ramallah. And the retaliations did not end there. Westerners and other foreigners were targeted and many have been kidnapped. One Swiss Red Cross official was kidnapped in the Gaza strip and two French women, working for Medicene du Monde, were also held captive for a short period before being released. A South Korean and two Australians were also reported kidnapped and the HSBC bank was attack by angry crowds in Ramallah. In Gaza there were sketchy reports that four guests had been kidnapped from a hotel popular with foreigners. And in latest reports German TV offices were attacked and an American was kidnapped in Jenin. It has also been reported that the Australians have also been released according to Reuters. The British Foreign Office issued a warning to its citizens to avoid the country as the chaos and violence continues. And as Israeli forces lay siege to the prison at the centre of this latest incursion, the man that they seek, Ahmad Saadat, spoke to the Arabic news station Al-Jazeera. The militant was jailed in 2001 for the assassination of an Israeli Tourism Minister. But his threatened release by the newly elected Hamas government prompted Israel to attempt his capture. But in a defiant speech, Saadat said he was not afraid of death and would not surrender. He described the attack on the prison as “part of the Israeli effort to crush our [the Palestinian] people”. Some commentators have described the action by Israel as being a cynical pre-election stunt.