Often when a few people reveal a secret, others feel free to share their stories, too. This was the case last week, after The New York Times Magazine published an excerpt from my book, “Rise and Kill First,” about the secret history of Israel’s targeted assassination program. The excerpt focused on Israel’s numerous attempts to kill the P.L.O. leader Yasir Arafat, many of which were thwarted by Israeli officers worried that the sometimes spectacular schemes, which involved dropping bombs on crowded neighborhoods or shooting down civilian aircraft, threatened too much collateral damage and would amount to war crimes.

Immediately after the story ran, the Israel news media erupted in controversy. Some commenters were disturbed by the existence of the program; others were upset that it did not go far enough. The arguments were familiar. What was more interesting, though, was the reaction from people who were present at the incidents I described and at others like them.

One of the episodes in the Times excerpt involves the story of Uri Avnery, a dovish Israeli journalist who, during the 1982 Israeli siege of Beirut, crossed the lines from an Israeli-held sector into the P.L.O.-controlled western neighborhoods with a photographer and a young reporter to meet Arafat. This was a controversial move. Israelis perceived Arafat to be their greatest enemy. His code name was “the Fish’s Head,” after the old saying that a fish rots from the head down. An Israeli special-ops task force that was set up to locate Arafat, code-named Salt Fish, knew about Avnery’s plan and decided to track his party until it reached the meeting place and then strike. An argument broke out among the military men and intelligence operatives involved as to whether they should endanger the lives of the three Israelis. On this occasion, in the heat of the battle and perhaps because some of the officers held the left-wing Avnery in contempt, it was decided not to let his party’s presence foil the plans to dispose of Arafat. Ultimately, however, Arafat’s security team was able to shake the operatives who were trailing him, and the decision remained a theoretical one.

In the wake of the Times article, Avnery wrote about the episode from his own perspective, for Ha’aretz. A German journalist, he said, had suggested that he interview Arafat and gave him his office telephone number. “I hurried to my hotel room and dialed the number,” he wrote. “An Arabic-accented voice answered. I said that I was Uri Avnery from Tel Aviv and I would like to meet with the Ra’is” — the president in Arabic. “‘I’ll call you in the evening,’ the man answered. I was certain nothing would come of it.” Salt Fish, monitoring many of Arafat’s phone calls, learned of the plan. Late that night, the phone rang in Avnery’s hotel room and he was told, “Be at the museum checkpoint at exactly 10:00 tomorrow. A man named Ahmed will be waiting for you.”