Mobs force international observers to flee West Bank

DOZENS of international observers abandoned this volatile West Bank city yesterday after irate crowds smashed windows and threw stones at their headquarters - the most violent Palestinian protest yet against Danish cartoons depicting Islam’s revered prophet.

The unrest came as the violent Islamic Jihad declared it would forge ahead with its attacks against Israel and stay out of any future government headed by Hamas.

The announcement signalled that, even if international pressure succeeds in persuading Hamas, which won January 25 parliamentary elections, to moderate its violent ideology, other Palestinian radicals won’t.