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| Middle East |
| Palestinians want two thugs freed |
| 2002-05-03 |
| The Palestinian Cabinet on Friday discussed the fate of two senior officials imprisoned as part of a U.S.-brokered deal that led to Yasser Arafat's release from Israeli confinement this week, and Palestinian officials said they expected the two to be freed soon. Ideally, the response should be "discuss and be damned." But they're gonna try and negotiate the Bad Guys out of jug. If they get them, they'll go for the other four. If they can't get them we'll see a campaign decrying how "unfair" their detention is. This is boring. Palestinian officials said that under the U.S. deal, the fate of Ahmed Saadat and Fuad Shobaki was left in the hands of the Palestinian legal system. Israeli officials disputed the claim, saying they were assured by the United States that Saadat and Shobaki would remain locked up as a condition for freeing Arafat. Sounds like we're on the hook to keep them... Israel had initially demanded the extradition of Saadat, leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and Shobaki, a senior Arafat aide. Israel accuses Saadat of masterminding the assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi in October, and alleges Shobaki financed a large shipment of illegal weapons. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |