Israel Declines Security Assistance for Carter

Mon, Apr 14, 2008 at 11:03:37 am PDT

In a very unusual move, Israel has declined to provide assistance to Jimmy Carter’s Secret Service security team.

JERUSALEM - Israel’s secret service has declined to assist U.S. agents guarding former U.S. President Jimmy Carter during a visit in which Israeli leaders have shunned him, U.S. sources told Reuters on Monday. ...

American sources close to the matter said the Shin Bet security service, which helps protect visiting dignitaries and is overseen by Olmert’s office, declined to meet the head of Carter’s Secret Service security detail or provide his team with assistance as is customary during such visits.

“They’re not getting support from local security,” an American source said.

Another source described the snub as an “unprecedented” breach between the Israeli Shin Bet and the U.S. Secret Service, which protects all current and former U.S. presidents, as well as Israeli leaders when they visit the United States.