Israeli advance-warning reports 'absolutely false'

JERUSALEM – Reports Israelis staying at the Radisson hotel in Amman were evacuated by Jordanian security forces hours before the bombing that also hit two other hotels are "entirely baseless and untrue," an Israeli foreign ministry spokesman told WND.

"These reports are unfounded and seem to fit the same patterns of false and totally discredited reports about Israel after other global terror attacks," said the spokesman.

The reports, echoed by dozens of newspapers, originated with a now-retracted article in Israel's Haaretz daily claiming Israelis staying Wednesday at the Radisson were evacuated before the bombing by Jordanian security forces due to a specific security alert. The article said the Israelis were escorted back to the Jewish state by security personnel.

The original Haaretz article has been removed from the Web, but a second article in the Israeli paper still has the false report.

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The Radisson, popular with Israeli tourists, was hit moments after suicide bombers struck the nearby Grand Hyatt Hotel. The Days Inn in Amman also was attacked. At least 57 people were killed in the hotel blasts, for which a group claiming to be al-Qaida in Iraq took responsibility.

Israeli security officials told WND they had general information about possible al-Qaida threats to Jordan but did not receive any intelligence regarding a specific attack. Israel issued a general travel advisory last month about trips to Jordan.

This was not the first time media outlets issued false reports of Israelis being forewarned of global terror attacks.

Less than two hours after bombings rocked London's transportation system July 7, the Associated Press reported former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received advance warning of the pending attacks. Netanyahu, staying in London at the time, was scheduled to address a conference near the site of one of the blasts, but according to the AP report he canceled his talk after British intelligence warned the Israeli embassy of the pending attacks. Hundreds of other media outlets around the world picked up the AP report, which later was retracted.

"The reports are entirely false," Netanyahu told WND one day after the London attacks, explaining the bombings occurred near the site of his scheduled speech while he was on his way to the conference center.

Both British and Israeli officials blasted the reports, and AP quickly replaced its original article with another headlined, "Israel 'not warned' about London attacks."

For some, the reports are eerily reminiscent of claims made immediately following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Scores of Internet bloggers and several media accounts claimed Jews received advanced knowledge of the World Trade Center attacks, prompting hundreds to take off work. The false reports were widely attributed with fueling anti-Semitic theories that the Mossad carried out the 9-11 attacks.