Gaza Plan Foes Could Try to Kill Sharon - Minister
Tue Jul 6, 2004 02:01 PM ET
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A top Israeli minister said on Tuesday he had "no doubt" there were Jewish radicals ready to assassinate Prime Minister Ariel Sharon or other top officials to stop his Gaza pullout plan.
Internal Security Minister Tsachi Hagnebi spoke to Channel Two television a day after Sharon ordered action to quell inflammatory statements by opponents to the plan.
"There are those who have already made the decision, that when the time comes, they will save the people of Israel," Hanegbi said. "They will try to kill a minister, prime minister, a policeman, a military officer, I have no doubt."
Sharon's personal security was bolstered recently to prevent a repeat of premier Yitzhak Rabin's assassination in 1995 by an extremist trying to halt peace talks with the Palestinians. He is now serving a life sentence.
"There is a serious escalation here, and we can't ignore it," said Hanegbi. "It is our obligation as a government to do all we can to avoid a repetition of November 1995."
Sharon has won cabinet approval for the Gaza pullout, which calls for the uprooting of all 21 Jewish settlements in the coastal strip and four others in the West Bank. A second vote is necessary before implementation.
Israel's parliament held a special debate on warnings of violence issued by Jewish radicals who oppose ceding any land taken in a 1967 war.
Jewish settlers and religious extremists say the territory is part of a heritage bestowed by God and reject Sharon's plan.
A Jerusalem rabbi last week said anyone handing part of Israel to a non-Jew could be killed under the historic law of "Rodef," a license to kill someone who intends to kill someone else.
Lawmakers warned that such talk endangered Israel's democracy. Ofir Pinuz-Paz, of the center-left Labour party, called for all factions to adopt a resolution condemning the incitement.
Israel's attorney-general is due to meet the head of the Shin Bet internal security agency Avi Dichter and other security officials this week to discuss legal ways to prevent incitement.
Polls show most Israelis back the pullout plan, but Jewish settlers feel betrayed by Sharon, once their most avid champion.
Tue Jul 6, 2004 02:01 PM ET
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A top Israeli minister said on Tuesday he had "no doubt" there were Jewish radicals ready to assassinate Prime Minister Ariel Sharon or other top officials to stop his Gaza pullout plan.
Internal Security Minister Tsachi Hagnebi spoke to Channel Two television a day after Sharon ordered action to quell inflammatory statements by opponents to the plan.
"There are those who have already made the decision, that when the time comes, they will save the people of Israel," Hanegbi said. "They will try to kill a minister, prime minister, a policeman, a military officer, I have no doubt."
Sharon's personal security was bolstered recently to prevent a repeat of premier Yitzhak Rabin's assassination in 1995 by an extremist trying to halt peace talks with the Palestinians. He is now serving a life sentence.
"There is a serious escalation here, and we can't ignore it," said Hanegbi. "It is our obligation as a government to do all we can to avoid a repetition of November 1995."
Sharon has won cabinet approval for the Gaza pullout, which calls for the uprooting of all 21 Jewish settlements in the coastal strip and four others in the West Bank. A second vote is necessary before implementation.
Israel's parliament held a special debate on warnings of violence issued by Jewish radicals who oppose ceding any land taken in a 1967 war.
Jewish settlers and religious extremists say the territory is part of a heritage bestowed by God and reject Sharon's plan.
A Jerusalem rabbi last week said anyone handing part of Israel to a non-Jew could be killed under the historic law of "Rodef," a license to kill someone who intends to kill someone else.
Lawmakers warned that such talk endangered Israel's democracy. Ofir Pinuz-Paz, of the center-left Labour party, called for all factions to adopt a resolution condemning the incitement.
Israel's attorney-general is due to meet the head of the Shin Bet internal security agency Avi Dichter and other security officials this week to discuss legal ways to prevent incitement.
Polls show most Israelis back the pullout plan, but Jewish settlers feel betrayed by Sharon, once their most avid champion.