As Politics Heat Up, Some Israelis Fear Repeat of Rabin Assassination

[Blackaxe]

JERUSALEM (AP) - A sharp escalation in right-wing threats and rhetoric ahead of a planned Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip has put security forces on alert and evoked memories of the hate-filled atmosphere that preceded the 1995 assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

Jewish extremists say they are planning a full-fledged rebellion. In interviews, several said they were recruiting fighters and instructing followers to resist eviction by force.

The warnings have put the nation's leaders on edge.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said this week he feels at risk. His police minister, Tsachi Hanegbi, warned that extremists are plotting assassinations, though later officials clarified that he was speaking from an assessment of the charged political atmosphere rather than from specific intelligence.


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