Israel Matzav

Egypt claims Israel called off Haniyeh assassination, Israeli minister denies it

Egypt's Al-Ahram, quoting 'Palestinian' sources (and apparently only in Arabic, because I could not find it in the English editions), reports that Israel called off a plan to assassinate Hamas 'Prime Minister' Ismail Haniyeh in the aftermath of the terror attacks outside Eilat ten days ago. Israel Radio (9:00 pm) reported that Education Minister Gidon Sa'ar (yes, every minister is involved in everything in this country - often with the exception of the things for which he is actually responsible) denied the story.

Israel planned to assassinate Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh following the terrorist attacks near Eilat, but canceled those plans at Egypt's request, Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram quoted an "informed Palestinian source" as saying Saturday.

According to the report, Egypt, with the assistance of the Palestinian Authority, also pressured the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement and Palestinian Resistance Committees (PRC), groups considered largely responsible for the recent rocket attacks on Israel, not to escalate tensions and to allow the situation to return to a state of calm, despite assassinations of PRC leadership by the IDF in the Gaza Strip.

By the way, if you want to see an obsession with Israel, look at Al-Ahram's English home page.

Labels: Egypt, Eilat, Gidon Saar, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Ismail Haniyeh

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:40 PM