Israel defied mounting international pressure for a ceasefire and continued its devastating air attacks on Gaza today.

Israelis are marking the 13th anniversary of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s death at the hands of an assassin opposed to his peace policies.

THE head of Israel’s internal security service said yesterday he is “very concerned” that Jewish extremists could assassinate an Israeli leader in an attempt to foil peace moves with the Palestinians.

Gunmen planned to assassinate Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert when he went to the West Bank in August to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a security chief reportedly told Israel’s Cabinet today.

PALESTINIAN Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said yesterday that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was never seriously threatened by an assassination plot and promised to do his best to rein in West Bank militants.

Gunmen planned to assassinate Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert when he went to the West Bank in August to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a security chief reportedly told Israel’s Cabinet today.

Israelis might have been better off when Saddam Hussein was in power in Iraq, Shin Bet’s security chief said, according to a tape recording broadcast in Jerusalem.

Israeli might have been better off when Saddam Hussein was in power in Iraq, said Shin Bet security chief Yuval Diskin, according to a tape recording broadcast Monday by Channel 10 TV in Jerusalem.

The Israeli military has arrested dozens of Hamas candidates for parliament and local councils as part of its new offensive against the Islamic militant group.

Palestinian police are incapable of controlling armed militants, and al-Qaida is posed to infiltrate the Gaza Strip and Israel, Israel’s domestic security chief warned today, reflecting deep Israeli concerns over threats that could result from chaos in Gaza following its handover to the Palestinian Authority.