Israeli forces have arrested Palestinian militant Ahmed Saadat after a raid on a jail where he was imprisoned, Arab television stations have reported.
Al-Arabiya and al-Jazeera channels quoted reports from Palestinian officials which said that Saadat and other members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) were now in the custody of Israeli forces.
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) leader Mr Ahmed Saadat
According to Palestinian officials Saadat surrendered to Israeli this evening.
Saadat, accused by Israel of involvement in the 2001 killing of an Israeli cabinet minister, was among a group of prisoners who walked out of Jericho jail with their hands up after a day-long siege, the officials said.
The Israeli army attempt to seize the men from the prison in Jericho sparked major unrest.
Israeli forces burst into the jail this morning demanding the handover of men, including PFLP leader Ahmed Saadat, who they claim were responsible for the assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi in 2001.
Earlier today, Hamas had urged Palestinians to resist the seige of the prison. Its leader-in-exile Khaled Meshaal warned Israel against harming Saadat saying the Jewish state would be responsible for the consequences of its raid.
Following the raid Palestinians set fire the British Council offices in Gaza City and gunmen fired on a group of foreigners fleeing the area. Militants also kidnapped eight foreign nationals, attacked a German television station and the HSBC bank in Ramallah.
The seige began when Israeli soldiers blew up the outer wall of the prison compound, then brought up bulldozers. They also fired a missile into the compound and through loudhailers, troops demanded that the militants turn themselves in.
Two men, a prison guard and a prisoner were killed when troops opened fire.
Israel wants to arrest Saadat, the leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and five other senior fighters who are being held at the jail.
This morning's raid was condemned by Palestinians with President Mahmoud Abbas blaming the United States and British governments after US and British observers who had monitored the jail for the past four years withdrew early this morning.
Mahmoud Abbas
Mr Abbas lashed out at the Americans and the British, saying they withdrew the monitors without telling him, violating a 2002 agreement. He said he would hold them responsible if anything happens to the prisoners.
"The authority denounces this aggression and calls on the Israeli government to withdraw immediately from Jericho and to stop all the military acts, and it calls on the American and British observers to return immediately," he said in a statement.
In reaction to the raid, a British Council office was set ablaze by an angry Palestinian mob and an EU compound has been stormed by Palestinian protesters.
Palestinian gunmen opened fire on a convoy of foreigners leaving Gaza. The convoy was en route to a main crossing point into Israel and was being escorted by Palestinian security forces. No one was wounded and the foreigners were evacuated.
Palestinian militants also kidnapped at least eight foreigners in Gaza. They included two French, two Australians, one Swiss and one Korean national.
Incoming Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, a Hamas leader, called the raid "a dangerous escalation against the Palestinian leaders and freedom fighters."
Israeli soldiers stand guard over Palestinians taken prisoner during a raid on a jail in the West Bank town of Jericho.
"We warn against the continuation of this destructive attitude, especially harming the lives of freedom fighters. The Palestinian blood is becoming material for the competition of the Israeli election," he said.
Dozens of gunmen from the PFLP fired in the air in the Gaza Strip to protest at the raid.
The Palestinian High Court ordered the release of Mr Ahmed Saadat a month after his arrest, saying there was no evidence to link him to the Zeevi assassination.
However, Israeli officials said Mr Saadat would be killed if he was freed, and the Palestinian cabinet blocked the release.