Israel hardliners plot release of Rabin killer

Israel's most extreme right-wing fringe has launched a nationwide campaign to release the jailed assassin of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin to mark the 12th anniversary of the murder.
"If Israel is ready to release terrorists for peace, by the same principle, we demand the release of Yigal Amir," said Itamar Ben Gvir, who belongs to a committee in support of Israel's most famous political assassin.
On November 4, 1995 Amir fired three bullets into Rabin's back at the end of a Tel Aviv peace rally in a bid to torpedo the Oslo accords with the Palestinians that had earnt the Israeli premier a Nobel peace prize.
The so-called Committee for Democracy has released a 15-minute video of Amir's family calling on Israel to release him "in the name of human rights" and "national reconciliation".
The organisation plans to hand out 150,000 copies of the DVD on the streets and at extreme right-wing gatherings to mark the 12th anniversary of the killing which falls on Wednesday under the Hebrew calendar.