By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent, and News Agencies
16/03/2006

Jordan`s King Abdullah on Wednesday sharply criticized Tuesday`s raid  in Jericho, calling it "an unfortunate escalation" that posed a threat to the future of the peace process and to security in the region.

"It would have been better for the parties concerned to find another formula to deal with this issue," the king said, adding, "[The Israelis] created tension and lessened the chances for an adequate climate to forge ahead with the peace process."

He also urged Hamas "to deal with regional and international realities," referring to the group`s refusal to disarm, recognize international treaties signed by the Palestinian Authority or recognize Israel.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit also denounced the raid. "Using violence to settle pending issues between the two sides contradicts all previously signed agreements," Aboul Gheit was quoted as saying. He added that Egypt was in continuous contact with all parties concerned in order to contain the situation.

The minister warned Israel against "adopting unilateral measures, using force and obstructing Palestinian security men carrying out their duties," but he also called on all Palestinian groups to exercise self-restraint.

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday visited the site of an Israel Defense Force arrest raid at Jericho prison the day before, calling the operation "an ugly crime which cannot be forgiven."IDF troops, bulldozers and tanks arrived at the jail Tuesday morning, shortly after the departure of British and American monitors charged with supervising the detention of five militants jailed for the murder of Israeli minister Rehavam Ze`evi in 2001.

"What happened is an ugly crime which cannot be forgiven and a humiliation for the Palestinian people and a violation of all the agreements," Abbas told reporters during his visit to the jail. "Their arrest by Israel is illegal." Israel said that operation to transfer the five to Israeli jails, along with Fuad Shobaki, who was jailed for his role in smuggling weapons into the PA, was prompted by the withdrawal of the international monitors.

The operation sparked widespread protests across the West Bank and Gaza, where angry Palestinains targeted British and American institutions and kidnapped foreigners. Abbas said Wednesday that Palestinian outrage over the raid was "understandable," but criticized the kidnappings.

"Those who are living among us are our guests, and these foreign institutions are providing services to our people. We should respect our guests," he said.

Abbas suggested there was close coordination between British and American inspectors at the prison and Israeli forces. Abbas said Israeli forces arrived 10 minutes after foreign monitors left Jericho on Tuesday morning. Pressed to elaborate, he said: "I`m giving the facts. They [the monitors] left at 9:20 A.M., and the Israelis came in at 9:30 a.m. How can we explain that?"

"This was a severe blow to the Palestinian Authority and to Abu Mazen [Abbas] personally," said Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, who was accompanying him.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Wednesday defended the decision to remove the monitors, saying it came after careful consideration and months of warnings about problems at the jail.

"The idea that this was... uncalled-for or not thought through is simply wrong," he said in his weekly House of Commons question session.

The British and American consuls general sent Abbas a letter on March 8 expressing their concerns over security provisions at the jail, and warning that failure to address these concerns could result in the removal of the monitors.

Abbas acknowledged that the foreign monitors had informed him of their intention to leave, but said they did not give a departure date.

On Wednesday, Palestinians closed shops across the West Bank and Gaza to protest the raid, amid an outburst of anti-Western sentiment. In Gaza, schools opened, but most students left early in a show of protest. Nablus residents observed a general strike.

Palestinian militants on Wednesday released the last four foreigners they were holding, a day after seizing the hostages to protest the raid.

Palestinian security officials escorted the four hostages, including a South Korean journalist, two French citizens and a Canadian aid worker, into the headquarters of the Palestinian preventive security agency in Gaza City on Wednesday afternoon. Security officials had worked through the night to secure their release.The hostages, all unharmed, received an apology from Rashid Abu Shbak, head of preventive security, and called their families before leaving for Israel, joined by diplomats, in a heavily guarded convoy.

"I am feeling tired. I want to go home to take a shower and sleep,"said Adam Budzanowski, the Canadian. He declined to discuss how he was treated.

One of the French hostages, Alfred Yaghobzadeh, spoke to his wife on a cellphone and shook hands with an AP reporter as he entered the building. Yaghobzadeh, an Iranian-born photographer who has worked in Gaza for close to 20 years, did not comment to reporters.

The Korean hostage, Yong Tae-young, a correspondent from state TV station KBS, declined comment.

Gunman affiliated with the radical Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine seized a total of 11 foreigners after Tuesday`s raid. Most of the hostages were quickly released unharmed.

Officials at the South Korean Embassy in Tel Aviv said they had recently cautioned citizens against traveling to Gaza.

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