FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
15 March 2006
Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America
IRSCNA
Condemns Israeli Siege of Jericho Prison
On behalf of the Irish Republican Socialist Movement, the Irish
Republican
Socialist Committees of North America issue the
following statement condemning Israel's assault on Palestine's Jericho
Prison and the arrest of six members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, including PFLP General Secretary
Ahmad Sa'adat.
On Tuesday, 14 March 2006, the Israel Defense Forces laid siege to Jericho Prison in the West Bank
to arrest six PFLP activists, including those who allegedly ordered and carried out the 2001 assassination of Israeli cabinet
minister Rehavam Ze'evi. The siege occurred only after American and British monitors, stationed there as part of a compromise
reached between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, deliberately withdrew from their posts, making the US and
Britain
complicit in what happened.
Israel considers Sa'adat to be the mastermind of the Ze'evi
assassination. Although
held in a Palestinian prison as part of the compromise between Israel and the PA, Sa'adat ran for election to the new Palestinian
parliament from his prison cell and six weeks ago won a seat in the parliament. PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas was under pressure
to release a man the Palestinian people elected to office and Hamas said they would release him once they formed the new government.
Rather than see him released, Israel decided to lay siege to the
prison until he and the five other PFLP activists surrendered
and were taken into Israeli custody. During the siege, three Palestinians were killed. In response, Abu Jbarah, a spokesperson
for the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades (the PFLP's military wing), stated that "we will respond and respond strongly whether he
is harmed or not."
In conclusion, we in the Irish Republican Socialist Movement condemn Israel's siege of Jericho
Prison in violation of Palestinian sovereignty. We also condemn the arrest of an elected member of the Palestinian parliament
and five other activists imprisoned for their roles in the national liberation struggle of the Palestinian people. This was
undoubtedly a deliberate provocation by Israeli Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in an attempt to boost his image before
the upcoming election in Israel. We condemn Olmert and the Israeli government while we stand in solidarity with our allies
in the PFLP and the Palestinian people. To the latter we quote the last words of Irish National Liberation Army hunger striker
Patsy O'Hara: "Let the fight go on!"
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Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America
PO Box
8266
Austin TX 78713-8266
USA
irscna@irsm.org http://www.irscna.org/ http://www.irsm.org/irsm.html
