A Palestinian man was charged Thursday in Jerusalem District Court with gathering intelligence as part of a plan to assassinate Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Masseb Bashir, a 25-year-old resident of Dir el-Balah in the Gaza Strip, has a valid entry permit into Israel due to his work with the organization "Doctors without Borders." The charges against him include contacts with a foreign agent and conspiracy to commit a crime.

The planning for the assassination was conducted at the initial level only, and did not become operational.

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Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) militants in Dir el-Balah allegedly recruited Bashir, and sent him to gather intelligence on the security arrangements at the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem.

He visited the site several times, and informed his PFLP handlers that the tight security would not permit the successful assassination of the prime minister.

At a later stage, the PFLF decided to murder an Israeli working in archeological excavations in East Jerusalem. As part of that plan, Bashir allegedly underwent training in martial arts and firing a handgun.

Bashir was arrested in April following a Shin Bet investigation.