JERUSALEM - The new head of Israel's Shin Beth domestic intelligence agency added his voice Tuesday to growing concerns about the threat of Jewish extremism in the countdown to the pullout from the Gaza Strip.
Yuval Diskin was quoted by public radio as telling MPs that "we must preserve the right to democratic protests but we must also stop the emergence of Jewish terrorism."
Diskin's comments to a closed-door session of parliament's foreign affairs and defence committee came the day after it emerged that security services arrested nine people suspected of planning an attack on Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque, which is the third holiest site in Islam.
Israeli security services have become increasingly worried that Jewish extremists will try to carry out a high-profile attack in a bid to generate a backlash from the Palestinians that would derail the whole Gaza pullout.
Diskin, who took up his post on Sunday, also told deputies the main challenge facing Israel was from Palestinian militants.
The 49-year-old said any Israeli crackdown against Hamas would be complicated if the radical Islamist movement becomes a major political player after it contests legislative elections in July.
"If Hamas becomes a political player, it will be difficult to combat them with targetted killing operations," he was quoted as saying by the radio.
Diskin is seen as the chief architect of the "targetted killing" policy, which led Israel to assassinate Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and his successor, Abdelaziz Rantissi, in air strikes last year.
05/17/2005 13:04 GMT