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Jerusalem claims Palestinians plotted to assassinate PM

Palestinian gunmen planned to assassinate Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert when he came to the West Bank in August to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a security chief told Israel's Cabinet yesterday, a meeting participant said.

Shin Bet security police director Yuval Diskin said gunmen loyal to Abbas' Fatah movement planned to attack Olmert's convoy as it entered the West Bank town of Jericho on Aug. 6. Israel notified Palestinian authorities and they arrested an unspecified number of Fatah militants, the participant said.

It was not clear why Israel, whose military operates freely in the West Bank, left it up to Palestinian security sources to apprehend would-be assassins if they thought Olmert's life was in danger -- or why they allowed the trip to proceed.

Although the men admitted they planned the attack, the Palestinian Authority released them last week, the meeting participant said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Olmert's office has protested their release to Abbas, he said. But Tawfiq Tirawi, the Palestinian intelligence chief, denied they were freed.

Another Palestinian security official confirmed that Israel notified the Palestinian Authority that a militant cell planned to target Olmert, and that an unspecified number of militants were arrested. But he said that while the gunmen said they considered attacking the Israeli leader, they had no operational plan.

An Israeli government spokeswoman had no immediate information on the assassination attempt, and it was not clear how close the militants got to carrying out the plot. It also was not clear why Israel waited two-and-a-half months to disclose the alleged assassination plan.
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