US knew that Israel planned to raid Jericho Prison

By NATHAN GUTTMAN
Israel briefed the US on its plan to raid the Jericho prison a short time before the IDF forces reached the area and kept the Americans updated on the progress of the raid. Diplomatic sources in Washington said Tuesday that the briefings were done both through the US embassy in Tel-Aviv and by the Israeli embassy in Washington. The US made it clear Tuesday that the decision to pull out American and British monitors from the Jericho prison was taken only because of security issues. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack, on tour in Indonesia with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, said that "The monitors were withdrawn out of concern for their safety". He added that the Palestinians were warned in advance, in a joint British-US letter from March 8, that if the Palestinian Authority does not improve the security of the foreign monitors around the prison, they will be pulled out.