JERUSALEM - Knesset member Danny Yatom has said he opposed plans to assassinate Hamas militants as head of Israel's Mossad.

The Israeli Labor Party member said he was not behind the 1997 botched assassination attempt of Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, YNetNews reported.

The ex-Mossad chief not only distanced himself from one of the agency's most embarrassing moments, but said similar actions taken against Hamas targets were linked to former Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

Yatom, who is seeking the leadership of his party, said in an interview in Wednesday's Yedioth Ahronot Netanyahu specifically asked for potential targets to use as a measured response to a pair of suicide bombing attacks on Israel at the time.

"After two attacks in Jerusalem, Bibi Netanyahu convened the cabinet and asked the heads of the security agencies to present possible Hamas targets," Yatom said.

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