Israel tones down criticism of India in standoff

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Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Sunday he was pleased with India's cooperation throughout the deadly Mumbai attacks, toning down criticism voiced by Israeli security experts of the Indian military's handling of the standoff.

Olmert's comments appeared to be aimed at heading off tensions with India, an important Israeli ally.

Speaking at the weekly meeting of his Cabinet, Olmert said there had been "proper and correct cooperation" with India throughout the crisis. Olmert said there was "no doubt" the attacks targeted Jewish institutions.

While noting that Israel had offered assistance, he said there was never any talk of sending in Israeli forces.

At least 174 people were massacred in the rampage carried out by gunmen at 10 sites across Mumbai starting Wednesday night.

Seven of the victims were killed at Mumbai's Chabad House, a Jewish center targeted by the assailants. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the dead included four Israelis, and Jews from the U.S. and Mexico. The seventh victim still had not been identified, and one Israeli in Mumbai was still unaccounted for, the ministry said.

An American rabbi said Sunday he made phone contact with one of the assailants during the standoff, describing a harrowing ordeal in which he could hear a woman's desperate cry for help.

Rabbi Levi Shemtov said he spoke to the gunman after calling the cellphone of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, one of the hostages at the Chabad House who died in the attack.

Shemtov, Chabad's representative in Washington, D.C., said the attacker identified himself as "Imran" and "sounded very calm."

"He didn't want to tell me what he wanted," Shemtov told Army Radio. "I asked if we could hear the voice of the rabbi, or someone who was alive there, and we only heard the voice of one woman screaming in English, 'Please help immediately,'" he said.

"I asked him to pass the phone to the rabbi. He said, 'You've already asked for too much.'"

Indian commandos raided the building before dawn Friday. When the raid ended at sundown, everyone inside the building was dead.

India's top security official resigned Sunday in the face of growing accusations of security failures. On Friday, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said it was clear that Indian forces were not on par with elite Israeli units.

India has become a valuable ally and trading partner for Israel in recent years. Many Israeli high-tech companies have set up operations in India, and India is a major customer for advanced Israeli weapons.

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Chabad-Lubavitch Media Center: http://www.chabad.org/

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