From Occupied Palestine

A sudden exit, a jail is stormed - and Israel's long wait is over
CHRIS McGREAL
Guardian, 15 March 2006

[see also, STEVE BELL cartoon]

Jericho -- With explosions and gunfire echoing across Jericho yesterday, Colonel Ronnie Blekin finally got the men for whom he and his army had waited for four years: the Palestinians accused of one of the most audacious political killings in Israeli history - the assassination of a cabinet minister in a Jerusalem hotel in 2001.

An interview with imprisoned PFLP General Secretary Ahmad Saadat
Fight Back!, 20 May 2003

Fight Back! interviewed the imprisoned General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Ahmad Saadat, on May 20. At a time when the eyes of the world are focused on the Middle East, we are grateful for the opportunity to bring you, our readers, the thoughts of one of the key leaders of the Palestinian resistance in his own words.

Ruling over the law
SHERINE BAHAA
Al-Ahram Weekly, 20-26 June 2002

Ahmed Saadat, known among his comrades as Abu Ghassan, used to say that it was only natural for the general secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) to be a wanted man. When he said that, Saadat of course meant "wanted" by the Israeli forces; it had probably never crossed his mind that he would one day be detained by Palestinian Authority (PA) security bodies.

Amnesty demands PFLP chief's release; new PA cabinet meets
AMIRA HASS and AMOS HAREL
Ha'aretz, 14 June 2002

The Palestinian Authority must release the leader of a radical Palestinian faction that claimed responsibility for the killing of cabinet minister Rehavam Ze'evi in October, the human rights group Amnesty International said in a statement Thursday.

Ahmad Sa'adat must be released and his safety ensured
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Public Statement, 13 June 2002

Israel/Occupied Territories/Palestinian Authority

Following the decision of the Palestinian High Court of Justice in Gaza ordering that Ahmad Sa'adat be released immediately, Amnesty International is calling on the Palestinian Authority (PA) to respect this decision and free him from detention without further delay. Amnesty International is also calling on Israel to publicly guarantee that Ahmad Sa'adat will not be subjected to any extrajudicial measures, including assassination.

“Justice” Games: Prison ain’t what it used to be
NISSAN RATZLAV-KATZ
National Review, 5 June 2002

The supreme court of the Palestinian Authority earlier this week ordered the release of Ahmed Saadat, one of those terrorists meant to be incarcerated in a Jericho prison under the supervision of American and British wardens, as per an agreement reached between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in April. Saadat, the head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), was among those hiding out in PLO leader Yasser Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah during a month-long standoff. He is wanted by Israel for planning the assassination of tourism minister and cabinet member, Rehavam Zeevi. The PA court declared that there was no evidence linking Saadat to the murder, despite the fact that the PFLP openly claimed responsibility for the deed.

Palestinians ignore court call to free faction leader
SUZANNE GOLDENBERG
Guardian, 4 June 2002

Jerusalem -- The Palestinian Cabinet last night countermanded the decision of its own supreme court to release a Palestinian faction leader held under British and American guard.

Israel had vowed harsh retribution yesterday if Ahmed Saadat, the leader of the leftwing Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), had walked free from a Jericho jail, after a ruling by a court in Gaza to free him.

PFLP threatens to kill Arafat aides if leader is not freed
GRAHAM USHER
Guardian 18 January 2002

Jerusalem -- The spectre of a Palestinian civil war loomed yesterday when the military wing of the radical Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine threatened to kill Palestinian Authority security chiefs if its leader, Ahmed Saadat, and other PFLP political prisoners were not "immediately released" from authority jails.

Ahmed Saadat: Radical PFLP leader
KATHRYN WESTCOTT
BBC News,
18 January 2002

Ahmed Saadat, the 48-year-old secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), is the highest-ranking Palestinian political figure arrested by the Palestinian Authority.

He is a second-generation PFLP leader, belonging to what is known as the movement's 'insiders', those who stayed in the West Bank and Gaza rather than going into exile.