French Leader Rushed to Safety in Israel After Gunshot
JERUSALEM — President Sarkozy of France, and his wife, Carla, were in a security alert yesterday when a policeman shot himself dead as they said farewell to Israeli dignitaries at Ben-Gurion airport, Tel Aviv.
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President Sarkozy of France and his wife, Carla Bruni, are rushed up the steps to the presidential plane at Ben Gurion airport after an Israeli soldier taking part in a ceremony shot himself yesterday at Tel Aviv, Israel.
The incident sparked fears of an assassination attempt, evoking memories of the murder of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, at a rally in the city in 1995.
Mr. Sarkozy appeared not to hear the shot but his wife bounded up the stairs to the safety of the presidential plane accompanied by a security guard.
A few seconds later Mr. Sarkozy followed her, also with a bodyguard, while Prime Minister Olmert and Israel's president, Shimon Peres, were bundled away into armored cars by their security officers.
The dead man, as yet unnamed, was an Israeli guarding the airport. A witness said he shot himself in the head with one round after the VIPs finished inspecting a guard of honor. Medics tried to revive him but he was pronounced dead. Two female Israeli soldiers fainted at the sight but there were no other casualties.
The farewell ceremony marked the end of the French president's three-day visit to the Jewish state.
Soldiers, sailors, and aircrew in the guard of honour were supposed to be standing to attention "eyes front" but several turned at the sound of the shot.
The noise from a military band meant the shot was not heard immediately by the VIPs as they milled around the foot of the steps leading up to Mr. Sarkozy's aircraft.
But bodyguards reacted instantly, drawing their weapons, with the Israelis summoning armored vehicles to secure their leaders while the French headed into the official plane. The door was rapidly sealed.
After calm was restored, Messrs. Olmert and Peres mounted the steps to bid farewell to their visitors in the sanctuary of the plane. It then departed for France.
Israel Radio said the soldier was guarding the security perimeter around the plane. "We are carrying out a preliminary investigation," the Israeli border police said last night. A police spokesman, Micky Rosenfeld, denied that there had been a direct threat to the VIPs.
Mr. Sarkozy's first presidential visit to Israel has been marked by expressions of warmth and a renaissance in Franco-Israeli relations.
