Israel Warned United Kingdom About Possible Attacks http://fairuse.1accesshost.com/news2/stratfor-london.html Summary There has been massive confusion over a denial made by the Israelis [see post #2 below] that the Scotland Yard had warned the Israeli Embassy in London of possible terrorist attacks “minutes before” the first bomb went off July 7. Israel warned London of the attacks a “couple of days ago,” but British authorities failed to respond accordingly to deter the attacks, according to an unconfirmed rumor circulating in intelligence circles. While Israel is keeping quiet for the time-being, British Prime Minister Tony Blair soon will be facing the heat for his failure to take action. Analysis The Associated Press reported July 7 that an anonymous source in the Israeli Foreign Ministry said Scotland Yard had warned the Israeli Embassy in London of possible terrorist attacks in the U.K. capital. The information reportedly was passed to the embassy minutes before the first bomb struck at 0851 London time. The Israeli Embassy promptly ordered Israeli Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to remain in his hotel on the morning of July 7. Netanyahu was scheduled to participate in an Israeli Investment Forum Conference at the Grand Eastern Hotel, located next to the Liverpool Street Tube station -- the first target in the series of bombings that hit London on July 7. Several hours later, Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom officially denied reports that Scotland Yard passed any information to Israel regarding the bombings, and British police denied they had any advanced warning of the attacks. The British authorities similarly denied that any information exchange had occurred. Contrary to original claims that Israel was warned “minutes before” the first attack, unconfirmed rumors in intelligence circles indicate that the Israeli government actually warned London of the attacks “a couple of days” previous. Israel has apparently given other warnings about possible attacks that turned out to be aborted operations. The British government did not want to disrupt the G-8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, or call off visits by foreign dignitaries to London, hoping this would be another false alarm. The British government sat on this information for days and failed to respond. Though the Israeli government is playing along publicly, it may not stay quiet for long. This is sure to apply pressure on Blair very soon for his failure to deter this major terrorist attack.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050707/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_britain_explosions_1 Netanyahu Changed Plans Due to Warning By AMY TEIBEL, Associated Press Writer Thu Jul 7, 7:14 AM ET JERUSALEM - British police told the Israeli Embassy in London minutes before Thursday's explosions that they had received warnings of possible terror attacks in the city, a senior Israeli official said. Israeli Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had planned to attend an economic conference in a hotel over the subway stop where one of the blasts occurred, and the warning prompted him to stay in his hotel room instead, government officials said. Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said he wasn't aware of any Israeli casualties. Just before the blasts, Scotland Yard called the security officer at the Israeli Embassy to say they had received warnings of possible attacks, the official said. He did not say whether British police made any link to the economic conference. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the nature of his position. The Israeli Embassy was in a state of emergency after the explosions in London, with no one allowed to enter or leave, said the Israeli ambassador to London, Zvi Hefet. All phone lines to the embassy were down, said Danny Biran, an Israeli Foreign Ministry official. The ministry set up a situation room to deal with hundreds of phone calls from concerned relatives. Thousands of Israelis are living in London or visiting the city at this time, Biran said. Amir Gilad, a Netanyahu aide, told Israel Radio that Netanyahu's entourage was receiving updates all morning from British security officials, and "we have also asked to change our plans." Netanyahu had been scheduled to stay in London until Sunday, but that could change, Gilad said.
WOW!!!! If this is true, Blair is in some deep ****! [edit] And I can't believe that if this is true that Israel didn't also pass along the info to Bush.
I am no fan of Bush or Blair, but if they did raise the alarm they would be attacked too if nothing happened. I for one can't stand the color coded system that the U.S. uses for terror alerts. If you only have vague information, then what good does a warning do. It is a no win situation. Either you are accused of spreading fear, or accused of doing nothing. We unfortunately now live in a world where this sort of atrocity is going to happen from time to time. If someone really wants to strap a bunch of C4 to themselves and walk into a crowded mall, grocery store or sporting event and blow themselves up; what is going to stop them? One is much more likely to be killed in a car accident by a drunk driver then killed by a terrorist. Living in fear is not living at all.
Not sure what you're implying basso, but to be quite honest I hope it's not true. The last thing we need right now is more reasons not to trust government. And the article does smack of conspiracy theory without any real substance. It's just in today's climate what can we believe anymore?
Very reminiscent of the "Jews didn't go to work on 9/11" silliness that still makes the rounds in certain circles.
