Syria has strongly condemned the Israeli attack on the Palestinian prison in the West Bank city of Jericho as "state terrorism", the official newspaper Syria Times reported Thursday.

"Syria considered Israel's act as amounting to the ugliest form of state terrorism," a Foreign Ministry source was quoted as saying.

The kidnapped Palestinians in the Jericho incident should be released immediately, the source urged.

"While asserting support to the legitimate struggle by the Palestinian people to restore their rights, Syria calls on all the Palestinians to close the ranks in face of this flagrant aggression," the source added.

Israeli forces raided the Palestinian prison in Jericho on Tuesday and arrested the chief leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) Ahmed Saadat. The incident again led to an escalation of tension between Israel and the Palestinians.

Source: Xinhua