Israel: Israeli leaders warned their complacent countryfolk that Iraq could still strike at them, noting anxiously that Iraq is now accusing the Israeli military of directly participating in the war, writes David Horovitz in Jerusalem
But most Israelis apparently believe that the danger has passed and are disregarding instructions to keep their gas-masks with them at all times. And some foreign airlines, which had last week suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv for fear of Iraqi Scud attack, have begun renewing their services, sharing the assessment that Israel will not be hit.
Israel denied accusations by the Iraqi Foreign Minister Mr Naji Sabri that its forces are involved in the war. Mr Sabri said in Cairo yesterday that Israel was "sending missiles" into Iraq. "We found a missile, an Israeli missile, in Baghdad". Assuming that Mr Sabri was referring to a component exhibited by the Iraqis bearing references to Jerusalem and to an Israeli defence firm called "Taas", Israeli officials said the company made electronic software components for missiles used by the US military.
The Israeli army's chief spokeswoman, Ms Ruth Yaron, said the fact that Iraqi officials were now referring to Israel was a cause for concern. She noted the Iraqi leadership was still in place, that the Iraqi army was "still functioning," and that President Saddam's regime might yet attempt to target Israel as it "feels the net tightening".
The Israeli Defence Minister, Mr Shaul Mofaz, yesterday urged Israelis not to be complacent, telling them "the threat is not over yet". The army chief of staff, Gen Moshe Ya'alon, said the possibility of attack by surface-to-surface missiles, possibly carrying non-conventional warheads "has not been neutralised".
But the evidence on the streets was that most Israelis now feel there is little likelihood of a repeat of 1991, when Iraq fired 39 Scuds at Israel, and are largely unconcerned by the threat of non-conventional attack. Last week, when Israelis were told to seal a room in their homes as a refuge from non-conventional attack, to open their gas-mask kits, attach the filters and practise donning the masks, the orders were widely followed, and many parents kept their children from school.
Yesterday, however, school attendance was high, and few adults carried their masks. Within the defence establishment, a mini-row is said to be raging over whether it was smart to give the orders to open the kits, given that the official Israeli assessment has been that the likelihood of an Iraqi attack is "exceedingly low". Israelis are well aware of the growing US domination of western Iraq, the only part of the country from which Scuds could reach Israel.
Meanwhile, Pro-Saddam demonstrations have continued in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with thousands of Palestinian marchers urging Iraq to fire Scuds at Israel and demanding that the Arab world sever ties with the US and Britain.