Mossad: Netanyahu was warned of London bombs

Controversy continues over the recent Associated Press story which detailed the remarks of a “senior Israeli official” who said that Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in London for an economic conference, was warned by Scotland Yard “minutes” in advance of the bombings.

According to the AP story, the Israeli minister’s prior knowledge resulted in his not showing up at the conference, which took place at a hotel near the Liverpool Underground station one of the bomb sites.

But in a follow-up report by the news service the Israeli government denied knowledge of a prior warning and claimed that Netanyahu received the warning after the blasts had occurred.

It should be noted that the first story detailing Netanyahu’s “advance” warning was never retracted.

Further confirmation of the Mossad having prior knowledge of the bombings was made by an Israeli news site which cites the spy agency’s chief Meir Dagan, in an interview with the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag:

“The Mossad office in London received advance notice about the attacks, but only six minutes before the first blast. As a result, it was impossible to take any action to prevent the blasts.”

http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/news_service/middle_east_full_story.asp?service_id=9369