JERUSALEM (AP) -- Three Jewish extremists planned to fire a missile
into Islam's third-holiest shrine in hopes of unleashing mayhem across
the Middle East and halting Israel's planned withdrawal from the Gaza
Strip and part of the West Bank this summer, police said Monday.
Officials admitted that hard evidence in the case was weak, but other
opponents of the pullout showed Monday that even small numbers of
demonstrators can tie up police throughout Israel, blocking main
highways with burning tires and their own bodies. More than 235 people
were detained, police said.
The Cabinet and parliament repeatedly have approved the pullout plan,
driving opponents to desperate measures to stop it. Many are driven by
messianic religious beliefs, rejecting the right of a temporal
government to overturn their view of the West Bank and Gaza as land
promised to the Jews by God.
According to police, the suspects said they planned to commit suicide
after firing an anti-tank missile at the holy site in Jerusalem and
throwing grenades at police who would try to arrest them.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Israel-Palestinians.html