Israel Foils Plot to Kill Olmert

Palestinian prez ordered Fatah elite force to attack, say Israeli officials
By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 22, 2007 3:39 AM CDT
Israel Foils Plot to Kill Olmert
In this photo released by the Palestinian Authority, Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, left, walks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as he arrives for a meeting at a hotel in the West Bank town of Jericho, in this Monday, Aug. 6, 2007 file photo. Palestinian gunmen planned to assassinate...   (Associated Press)

Israel thwarted a plot by Fatah militants to attack a convoy carrying Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to the West Bank town of Jericho in August, AFP reports. Plotters  reportedly included members of an elite group directly under the command of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Three men were arrested by Palestinian police and later released.

The plot was uncovered two months ago—before the day of the meeting, Aug. 6—but was revealed yesterday as Olmert left for France and Britain to discuss preparations for a new round of Mideast peace talks. Israelis were annoyed that the men, who admitted the plot, were released. "We feel great displeasure over this issue and we will not ignore it,"  Olmert said, adding that he has no intention "to stop the negotiation effort." (More Israel stories.)

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