Israel details foiled plot to kill Olmert
Palestinian militants planned to assassinate Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert when he visited the West Bank in August, Israeli officials said Sunday. The alleged plot was apparently foiled by Israeli intelligence, which alerted Palestinian security.
Details of the reported plot were discussed during Olmert’s weekly Cabinet meeting. Olmert and Yuval Diskin, director of domestic intelligence, reportedly said that several of the alleged plotters were recently released by Palestinian authorities.
News stories stirred a mini-storm of Israeli reaction and criticism. They also touched off a flurry of confusing statements from Palestinian officials, who acknowledged they were informed by Israel of the plot but who offered conflicting statements on the suspects’ status.
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, seemingly caught off guard by a barrage of questions about the case, said three men had been released for lack of evidence.
But Maj. Gen. Tawfiq Tirawi, the head of Palestinian intelligence, issued a statement saying the men were still in custody and under interrogation. He later said they were released and then arrested again, but wouldn’t say why. It’s unclear whether the alleged plotters had weapons or a formal plan. Fayyad said Olmert was never in any serious danger.
Palestinian officials denied Israeli media reports that the suspects were all members of security forces loyal to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party.
Right-wing Israeli critics in particular said the alleged plot and release prove Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, is too weak on security to make a lasting deal with Olmert in upcoming peace negotiations.
“Abu Mazen -- regardless of his intentions -- not only does not control Gaza but doesn’t control the West Bank either, and not even his own people in Fatah,” said Yuval Steinitz, a member of the parliament, or Knesset, whose Likud Party opposes the negotiations.
Olmert, before leaving on a trip to France and Britain, told reporters the situation was “unacceptable.”
“But I do not have any intention to stop the negotiation efforts with the Palestinians,” Olmert added.
Special correspondent Maher Abukhater in Ramallah, West Bank, contributed to this report.
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