JERUSALEM, February 5: The US Govt has asked Israel to exercise restraint if attacked by Iraq, an official has said, but a newspaper reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to promise Israel would hold its fire if struck by missiles. Despite Iraq's denials, Israel believes Saddam Hussein's military may still have some of the 45 biological warheads it once had, and enough missiles and warplanes needed to deliver them, the Israeli official said yesterday.Briefing reporters on condition of anonymity, the official said that if one of those weapons landed in a major city, hundreds of Israelis could die. A barrage of missiles with toxic agents aboard could quickly push the toll into the thousands. Many feel it would be impossible for Israel to sit on the sidelines if an attack incurs a large casualty count.
In the 1991 Gulf war, Israel heeded a US request not to strike back at Iraq for 39 Scud missiles Saddam fired at the Jewish state. Iraq insists it has no strategic weapons systems left. Itsays it can prove 40 of the 45 biological warheads were destroyed and claims 817 of the 819 Scud missiles sold to Baghdad by the former Soviet Union have been accounted for.
But the official said no one has seen proof that the biological weapons were destroyed, and Iraq could have missiles from China, N-Korea or Libya. Israel believes two to five Iraqi launchers are unaccounted for by UN inspectors.
In an atmosphere of mounting concern, some say Israel is preparing for the worse-case scenario even as officials are playing down the likelihood of an Iraqi attack. Yesterday, Israeli soldiers staged an exercise in the Jordan valley during which they practised dealing with a chemical arms attack.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
