Why did Israeli troops raid the Jericho jail?
The prison compound in Jericho held six high-profile inmates, five of whom are accused by Israel of assassinating an extreme right-wing Israeli minister in 2001. They were held by the Palestinian Authority under the supervision of a small number of British and American monitors. The monitoring arrangement dates back to a deal brokered by the UK and US which ended an Israeli siege of Yasser Arafat’s Ramallah compound in 2002. A letter dated 8 March 2006 from British and American diplomats in Jerusalem warned the Palestinian Authority that the monitors were about to be withdrawn unless certain security conditions in the jail were improved. They cited non-compliance with the Ramallah agreement over “monitoring arrangements regarding visitors, cell searches, telephones access and correspondence”. On 14 March the monitors made good their threat to withdraw. Israeli troops immediately entered Palestinian-run Jericho and attacked the jail, forcing the surrender of everyone inside. Who were th
