The source indicated that part of the reason for such circumspection stemmed from the high level of "speculation" concerning the attacks. He specifically referred to a report that came out soon after Thursday's bombings that Israel had received advance warning of the attacks, pointing to the "danger that this kind of report can bring to Israel."
The Foreign Ministry, and Israeli embassy officials at the highest levels, totally rejected the report.
What one source did note, however, was that Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu received a call from British police soon after the first explosion, but before the full extent of the attacks was known, because it had occurred by the site of a conference at which he was to speak and for which he was about to depart. After the call from the police to his security staff, Netanyahu stayed put.
One Jewish official suggested that the "conspiracy theory" about Israel's prior warning lasted all day, despite immediate official denials, because a dispute still rages about whether Israeli officials tipped off British intelligence before the Israeli Embassy was bombed in 1994.