MOSCOW, March 15 (RIA Novosti) - Israel's raid on a West Bank prison and withdrawal of international monitors could lead to an escalation of tension in the region, a Russian lawmaker said Wednesday.
"The situation in Israel smells of a catastrophe," said Mikhail Margelov, who heads the international affairs committee of the Federation Council, parliament's upper house.
Israeli defense forces launched a military operation on a prison in Jericho after Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said he was prepared to free one of six high-ranking inmates, Ahmed Saadat, who allegedly ordered the assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi in 2001.
Israel said five of the six inmates, including Saadat, were Palestinian militants involved in Zeevi's assassination, and the sixth, Fouad Shubaki, masterminded arms smuggling to Palestine.
Margelov said the situation in Israel shows that the international community must work more actively in the region to solve the conflict.
He added that Moscow had continued to hold talks and consultations on the issue with Hamas, which won January 25 elections to the Palestinian parliament, as well as with Israel and Syria. The radical Islamic movement has come under intense foreign pressure to renounce violence, recognize Israel, and abide by commitments made by previous Palestinian leaders.
Britain and the United States withdrew their monitors from Jericho just before the Israeli attack. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the observers left Jericho because the Palestinian National Authority could not guarantee their safety.
