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Rabin's assassin says he was spurred by hawkish generals

Yitzhak Rabin's assassin, in a first interview since the 1995 killing, says he acted because hawkish former generals warned that the Israeli prime minister's land-for-peace negotiations with the Palestinians would bring disaster.

Yigal Amir shot Rabin at the end of a peace rally in Tel Aviv. Amir opposed the 1993 Oslo peace accord Rabin signed with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, which involved returning war-won land.

He told Israel's Channel 10 TV he was spurred into action by comments from Ariel Sharon, Rehavam Zeevi and Rafael Eitan, who at the time were leading rightwing politicians with long, distinguished military careers.

Asked who had an impact on his decision to kill Rabin, Amir replied: "Sharon, Raful, Gandhi, all of the people who understand the military and said this agreement would bring a disaster." Raful and Gandhi were the nicknames for Eitan and Zeevi respectively .

Read entire article at Guardian (UK)