The Israeli government strenuously denied that an army raid on a Palestinian Authority-run prison less than a fortnight before a general election was motivated by political considerations.
Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was quoted as telling a Russian-language newspaper that he ‘did not expedite the actions of the IDF (army)’ when ordering Tuesday's storming of the prison in Jericho which led to the arrest of the suspected killers of a cabinet minister five years ago.
The army's raid in the normally sleepy West Bank town came shortly after British and American monitors who had been posted in Jericho after an agreement reached in 2002 were withdrawn, with their governments citing safety fears.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said that it was clear that the raid was ordered for political reasons by Olmert whose Kadima party is favourite to win the March 28 election.
‘This operation was an attempt by Kadima to make electoral profit,’ Erakat told AFP.
However Kadima's hawkish Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz insisted that Israel had no alterative as he claimed that the Palestinian Authority was on the verge of freeing those suspected of planning and carrying the assassination of former tourism minister Rehavam Zeevi.
‘We have not been operating in Jericho for electoral reasons ... We had no choice but to intervene as no responsible state could allow the murderers of one of its ministers to be at liberty,’ Mofaz told Israeli public radio.
The minister also denied any suggestion that the raid was carried out in collusion with Britain or the United States despite the timing.
‘Our operation was not coordinated with the British and Americans,’ added Mofaz.
‘Around a week ago, they (the British and Americans) had written a letter to the Palestinians warning them that they were not respecting the conditions of detention in the Jericho proson and that they feared for the life of their observers.’
The government's denials were largely supported by the opposition parties.
Matan Vilnai, a senior member of the centre-left Labour party, said that the operation was conducted for reasons that have ‘nothing to do with politics’ and that it was clear that Hamas -- set to form the new Palestinian government after winning a recent election -- was about the free Zeevi's killers.
Yuval Steinitz, a senior member of the right-wing Likud party, also praised ‘the succesful operation in Jericho which was unaffected by any electoral considerations.’