Israeli President Moshe Katsav said on Monday the strong opposition of pro-settler rabbis to Israel's Gaza Strip and Northern West Bank pullout could incite radicals to try to assassinate Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. "In the struggle over the disengagement someone is likely to distort the rabbis' messages," Katsav told Army Radio. The result, he said, could be "extremist actions" and "the distorted conclusion that to prevent Israel's destruction, one must assassinate the prime minister."
Meanwhile, Israel and Egypt on Monday were on the verge of concluding an agreement that will see Egyptian border guards deployed opposite the "Philadelphi" route in Rafah. Following a meeting Sunday between an Israeli securty officia;, and Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, Israeli officials said that the agreement would be signed "very shortly," Haaretz reported on Monday. The Egyptian side is expected to deploy its forces ahead of Gaza pullout, which is slated to start on August 15.
