The fragile security standoff between Israel and the Palestinian Authority was shattered yesterday by the Israeli armed assault on Jericho's jail and in the instant retaliation of Palestinian militants against British and European targets in Gaza.
After a siege, Israeli troops arrested Ahmed Saadat, leader of the left-wing Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and five associates they accuse of murdering an Israeli minister in 2002.
Israel took this pre-emptive action after British and US representatives overseeing these prisoners were withdrawn in protest against their working conditions, and in the expectation that they would be released by an incoming Hamas government. The action was denounced by the Palestinian Authority, in whose custody they were held - and rightly so from the point of international law. But the mutual recrimination and rapid escalation underline how volatile are relations after the Hamas victory last January and ahead of the Israeli elections in nine days' time. The immediate retaliation against international personnel in Gaza, including European Union monitors at the Rafeh crossing with Egypt and the British Council office shows they could be targeted ruthlessly in future clashes.
This is a retrograde step which will make it more difficult to reach agreements in future involving international monitors and guarantors. It conveys a distressing message to those who have shown solidarity with Palestinians, however much the retaliation was provoked by anger over the withdrawal of the British and US overseers. Their governments had repeatedly complained about these conditions. It is also disquieting how rapidly the Israeli army acted once they were removed. This is an intense and relentless conflict, with little sign of immediate movement. That may come after the Israeli elections and the formation of a Palestinian government. But there are preciously few indications that bilateral talks can resume, backed up by multilateral pressure. Hence the reassertion of unilateral moves by Israeli leaders, in response to a fatalistic belief in Israeli public opinion that in the foreseeable future there is no prospect of finding a reliable Palestinian negotiating partner.
It will take time for Hamas to form a government and for international and Israeli leaders to get used to this new political reality. Pressure must be kept up on Hamas to accept Israel as a negotiating partner rather than as a state to be destroyed. It is a political gamble to believe a Hamas government would eventually accept this, but it is worth the effort. Yesterday's events strain that commitment unacceptably.