Jericho violence - who is to blame?

Was it proper for Israel to storm into the Jericho prison inside the Palestinian territory and capture six Palestinian prisoners - including one accused of killing a Jewish minister - on the grounds that these prisoners were not accorded punishment proper to their alleged crime?

The Israeli government claimed that the Palestinians have given a free rein to the prisoners and now wants to take them back to Isreal to face proper trial and punishment.

This Israeli attack on Jericho sparked uprising in Gaza and West Bank where the British Council office in Gaza was set on fire and foreigners kidnapped (though some released later).

Two French nationals and a South Korean were still captive after militants kidnapped nine foreigners in a wave of violence in Palestinian areas following the siege. Six were released soon after they were snatched in Gaza and the West Bank.

However the Palestinians are promising a wave of demonstrations and strikes to protest Israel's seizure of the leader of a radical group Ahmed Saadat from a West Bank jail.

So it looks set now that the jail-storming action by the Israelies to uphold law and justice brings about a reaction which is going to tear up all form of order in the middle east. We can see suicide bombing rates going up and similarly the Israeli retaliation.

With militants Hamas about to take control of the PA, peace in this region looks a little less likely now.

And what was Israeli's real motive in blasting into Jericho?

One commentator says:

"With Israeli elections in the offing, the Israeli government wants to show that
it is tough on security."

So was the whole military power show just a performance to shore up local political support, and in the process just to take a dig at the old nemesis?

Lets see how this develops.