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27-04-06, 01:36
Israel will not prosecute captured Palestinian militant boss Ahmed Saadat over the 2001 assassination of Israeli cabinet minister Rehavam Zeevi.
Israeli officials said there was not enough evidence to try him for the killing - though he would be tried for other "security offences".
Mr Saadat gave himself up in March after Israeli troops stormed a West Bank jail where he was being held.
Four militants taken with him will be tried for the killing, officials said.
According to a statement from the Israeli justice ministry, a pre-trial inquiry "did not produce enough proof" to try Mr Saadat over the Zeevi assassination.
But, the ministry said, "there is enough evidence for him to be tried on other security charges".
Rehavam Zeevi, Israel's right-wing former tourism minister, was gunned down in his hotel in October 2001.
Mr Saadat is a leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the militant faction Israel blames for killing Zeevi.
He had been kept in a jail in the West Bank town of Jericho under a deal Israel struck with a Palestinian administration led by the late Yasser Arafat.
Israeli troops raided the jail in March, claiming the Hamas government - elected in elections in January - was planning to free the prisoners.
The raid came hours after US and UK monitors withdrew from the jail, complaining of poor security arrangements.
Mr Saadat initially resisted arrest by the Israeli troops.
The day-long operation to take him and several fellow inmates into Israeli custody sparked protests across the West Bank and Gaza.
Several US and European citizens were briefly kidnapped by Palestinian militants and offices and property associated with their countries were attacked.
Israeli officials said there was not enough evidence to try him for the killing - though he would be tried for other "security offences".
Mr Saadat gave himself up in March after Israeli troops stormed a West Bank jail where he was being held.
Four militants taken with him will be tried for the killing, officials said.
According to a statement from the Israeli justice ministry, a pre-trial inquiry "did not produce enough proof" to try Mr Saadat over the Zeevi assassination.
But, the ministry said, "there is enough evidence for him to be tried on other security charges".
Rehavam Zeevi, Israel's right-wing former tourism minister, was gunned down in his hotel in October 2001.
Mr Saadat is a leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the militant faction Israel blames for killing Zeevi.
He had been kept in a jail in the West Bank town of Jericho under a deal Israel struck with a Palestinian administration led by the late Yasser Arafat.
Israeli troops raided the jail in March, claiming the Hamas government - elected in elections in January - was planning to free the prisoners.
The raid came hours after US and UK monitors withdrew from the jail, complaining of poor security arrangements.
Mr Saadat initially resisted arrest by the Israeli troops.
The day-long operation to take him and several fellow inmates into Israeli custody sparked protests across the West Bank and Gaza.
Several US and European citizens were briefly kidnapped by Palestinian militants and offices and property associated with their countries were attacked.