The British government denied Tuesday collusion with Israel in withdrawing its monitors from a West Bank prison, sparking an Israeli raid on a Palestinian prison and then a wave of a violence in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Speaking to lawmakers in the House of Commons, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said he had informed both Israel and the Palestinians of Britain's intention to withdraw its three prison monitors for their safety with immediate effect on March 8. But " there was indeed no collusion" with Israel on the timing of the withdrawal, he added.

Israeli forces, early on Tuesday, made a raid on a prison in the West Bank town of Jericho and captured a senior Palestinian militant leader, Ahmed Saadat, where he was held, shortly after the British and American monitors left the Palestinian-run prison.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has condemned Britain and the United States for withdrawing the monitors, calling the withdrawal a grave violation of agreements. He said the monitors were responsible for the prisoners' safety.

Saadat has been in Palestinian custody since early 2002, and was moved to Jericho under international supervision in a deal to lift Israel's siege of Yasser Arafat's Muqataa compound in Ramallah in May of that year.

Angry protests and a wave of unrest broke out across the Palestinian territories after the Israeli raid began. Then some Palestinians attacked two British cultural centers in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

Earlier, the British Foreign Office issued warnings against travel to the Palestinian territories and urged all Britons who do not have adequate security to leave the area.

Straw explained that Britain had repeatedly raised concerns about the security conditions in the prison and gave a final warning about the monitors' withdrawal on March 8.

He also urged all sides to show restraint. He said he had spoken to Palestinian leader Abbas, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, urging the Israeli government to show "maximum restraint".

Source: Xinhua