Rabin's assassin 'to wed in jail'

Amir shot Rabin several times at a peace rally in 1995

The killer of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin plans to get married in jail, Israeli television has reported.

Yigal Amir, 34, announced his intention to marry Larisa Trimbobler, a divorced mother-of-four, the private Channel 2 said.

Rabin's daughter, Dalia Rabin-Pelossof, was taken to hospital suffering from chest pains after hearing the news, her friends told Israel Army Radio.

Amir is serving life in prison after he shot Rabin at a peace rally in 1995.

Amir, an ultranationalist Jew, said he killed Rabin to derail a land-for-peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.

Request denied

Amir has not yet filed an official request, but his family on Sunday confirmed that he was engaged to Ms Trimbobler, who has frequently visited him in prison, the Haaretz newspaper reported.

Rabin advocated a compromise deal with the Palestinians

Ms Trimbobler, an immigrant from the former Soviet Union, wanted to marry Amir for ideological reasons, Channel 2 said.

On Monday, Israel's prisons chief Yaakov Ganot said he would deny any request by Amir to marry, despite a law allowing all prisoners to wed and have children.

"Despite the fact that no request has been submitted by [Amir] or his family, the prisons authority, at an urgent consultation this morning, has decided to reject any future request to marry, " Mr Ganot told reporters.

Mr Ganot added that he had already instructed his legal aides to prepare a case to defend his decision if Amir decides to appeal in court.

Experts say that the only argument that the prisons authority would be able to use to deny Amir's request would be based on security considerations.