Israeli media sources reportedly said that Israeli intelligence recommended that the Secretary General of the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine, (PFLP), Ahmad Sa’adat who has been jailed in Jericho since May 2002 should remain jailed.
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{mosimage}The intelligence claim they have received what they called new evidence that Sa’adat, who is accused of planning the assassination of the Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeivi, in October 2001, is also involved in planning to assassinate the Shass Leaders, Ovadia Yousef.
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Israel informed the U.S. with that demanding that Sa’adat should remain in the Palestinian Authority’s jail under the current American and British supervision.
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Israeli security sources claimed they have uncovered cells that were planning to kill Yousef and is also involved in stabbing an Israeli citizen in Jerusalem.  Members of these cells were allegedly involved in kidnapping suspected informers recruited by the Israeli intelligence torture them and punish them for being informers.
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Israel has arrested at least 30 of the PFLP operatives in the past few months allegedly accused of being messengers between these cells and the imprisoned Sa’adat and his four comrades jailed with him.
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Israel also demanded that Sa’adat and the other four activists be transferred to an Israeli jail and be tried in Israeli courts.
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A PFLP source denied the allegations saying the incitement against the Secretary General and all these arrests are part of a campaign Israel launched against the PFLP activists in revenge to the assassination of Zeivi.  The PFLP demanded that Sa’adat and his comrades to be released and to be provided protection, fearing that they might be assassinated by Israel, saying that this is one of the conditions for the group to continue with the calm.
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Sa’adat was elected Secretary General following the assassination of the former Secretary, Mustafa Al-Zabri, known as “Abu Ali Mustafa” in August 2001 when a helicopter missile hit him while in his office in Ramallah. ÂÂ
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The PFLP declared that one of its cells assassinated Zeivi in revenge to Al-Zabri.
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The Palestinian Authority refuses to release them despite a Supreme Court ruling to set them free.
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Few days before Israel handed Jericho over to the Palestinian Authority, the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared that Sa’adat will be released as soon as they take over the city of Jericho.   Israel, on the other hand, told the PA that in case those prisoners are set free, the military will immediately invade Jericho and kidnap them.
