A special anti-terror police unit and the IDF Nahal Brigade charged the prison Tuesday morning after U.S. and Britain withdrew their observers “out of concern for the monitors’ safety.”

Ze’evi’s killers surrendered along with 202 other prisoners after nine hours of shelling with heavy artillery and machine gunfire. The six will be taken to a prison in Israel.

Three Arabs were killed and several others wounded during the day-long siege. The IDF released 76 prisoners after it was determined they had not been involved in terrorist activity.

IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Dan Halutz made a personal call to Ze’evi’s family to inform them of the capture. “This is a great day for Israelis,” said Palmach Ze’evi, the son of the murdered Tourism Minister. He also said, however, that Israel should have “settled the score right then and there” on the day his father was assassinated.

Arabs protested the action with riots and kidnappings throughout Palestinian Authority-controlled areas. During the day, 17 foreign nationals were kidnapped. Two Australians, an American lecturer and a Red Cross official were released shortly after they were abducted.

According to Israel Radio, armed terrorists were hunting for foreigners in local hotels. The Gaza police chief ordered his officers to fire on anyone who attempted to kidnap foreigners.

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan called for an immediate release of foreigners who were kidnapped.

Some 15,000 Arabs protested in Gaza City against the Jericho operation, the British Cultural Center was torched and approximately 300 rioting Arabs broke into the European Union compound. In addition, gunmen burst into the German television network (ARD) offices, the same building that houses the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) studios. The office of AMIDEAST, a private nonprofit organization that provides educational support services, was also a target for armed Arab attackers. “We don’t want to see any Americans here,” one shouted at police who arrived on the scene.

The UN and the Red Cross both announced they were pulling their representatives out of Palestinian Authority-controlled areas temporarily in the wake of the kidnappings and other violence. Red Cross officials in Geneva later denied they had told their staff to leave.

European Union monitors also fled their posts at the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings with Gaza Tuesday afternoon at the instruction of their governments. Both crossings were closed as armed Arabs gathered at the sites. In addition, the Karni crossing was closed due to specific warnings of impending terror attacks.

Meanwhile, PA security forces did nothing to prevent the disorders taking place at the crossings. There was also concern that Arabs might try to break through the fence separating Egypt and Gaza. Egyptian and Israeli officials were continuing to exchange information on the situation.

The six assassins who were targeted on Tuesday in “Operation Pay a Visit” were members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), led by mastermind and PFLP leader Ahmed Sa’adat.

Israel had warned the PA numerous times that it would capture Sa’adat if he was freed. When the monitors pulled out, the Defense Ministry decided to act immediately in the wake of comments by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who said last week that he had “no problem releasing Ahmed Sa’adat."

PA officials angrily said they were not informed in advance of the decision by the U.S. and Britain to pull their observers. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told the British Parliament, “We were afraid that if we announced that our forces were leaving, we would put them at risk of being kidnapped.” He said neither Israel nor the PA was warned in advance of the move.

The PA and the PFLP both accused the U.S. and Britain of “collusion” with Israel, and
IDF Central Command head Yair Naveh pointedly squelched rumors of an international conspiracy when speaking to reporters late in the day. “There was no coordination here with the Brits or the Americans,” he said. “We began preparations several weeks ago,” he added, and said the PA had received a letter from the British a week ago warning of the impending withdrawal of the observers.

Former Prime Minister Shimon Peres held Hamas responsible for the IDF action. He told reporters on Tuesday that the terrorist organization which now leads the PA government planned to break previous agreements to uphold the lifetime prison terms for the killers.

Naveh acknowledged that there is a possibility that a new round of terror might be set off by Tuesday’s operation although he hoped the minimal number of casualties would “end the wave.”

He underscored the fact that Sa’adat’s capture was no different than other IDF actions to catch Arab terrorists. “We are talking about the detainment of murderers, as we do every night in Nablus, Hevron and Ramallah. In this regard, there is no difference,” he said.

The PFLP warned that Israel would “pay dearly” for the capture of its leader and Hamas Prime Minister-to-be Ismail Haniyeh warned Israel that hurting any of Ze’evi’s murderers would have “serious repercussions on the situation.” Several other terrorist organizations threatened to attack Israeli, U.S. and British targets.

Al Aksa Martyrs’ Brigade spokesman Abu Qusai warned American and British citizens to leave PA-controlled areas immediately, “otherwise they will be subject to kidnapping and other consequences,” he said.