Netanyahu Disputes CIA Over Release JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu challenged CIA officials Monday to disprove his claims that the Palestinians have released Islamic militants suspected in the bombing deaths of Americans. Palestinian officials have vehemently denied the charges and accuse Israel of trying to discredit their compliance with the Wye River peace accord the same week that President Clinton was to meet with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Washington. ``I suggest to invite the representative of the CIA to a joint news conference and I'd like to hear what he has to say publicly,'' said Netanyahu, responding to Israeli radio reports that the CIA representative in the region accepted the Palestinian denials. ``In any case we have our own information. It is very solid,'' he told reporters. According to the U.S.-brokered accord, CIA representatives are to monitor Palestinian efforts to crack down on militants from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, groups that have carried out dozens of deadly attacks against Israelis. Netanyahu froze implementation of the Wye accord in December, accusing Palestinian officials of violating the deal. The Palestinians insist they have met their obligations under the accord. In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman James Rubin said, ``We do not have any information that would confirm that any of the releases include individuals implicated in the killing of Americans.'' Rubin said the Clinton administration would take up the matter with Palestinian security experts. Israel released the names Monday of 21 suspected militants it claims have been let go from jails run by Arafat's Palestinian Authority but did not say where the men currently are or provide evidence of the releases. The list includes five Palestinians Israel alleges were involved in bombings which killed dozens of Israelis and five American citizens.
