JERUSALEM - Israel's internal security agency says it has foiled an al Qaeda plan to attack the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv and hit other targets in the country.

Shin Bet said Wednesday it arrested three Palestinians it accuses of plotting to carry out bombings, shootings, kidnappings and other attacks.

It said the men, two from Jerusalem and one from the West Bank, were recruited by an operative based in the Gaza Strip who worked for al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.

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Shin Bet alleges the Palestinians planned on attacking a Jerusalem conference center with firearms and then kill rescue workers with a truck bomb.

It said al Qaeda also planned to send foreign militants to attack the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv on the same day using explosives supplied by the Palestinians.