- Prime Minister Ariel Sharon yesterday told the cabinet
ministers to stop talking about the possible upcoming U.S. strike on Iraq.
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- Sharon, invited to Washington on October 16 to meet with
President George W. Bush, said the Americans have pressed Israel on the
subject several times and that outspoken Israeli remarks impede U.S. efforts.
The prime minister added that each minister should concentrate solely on
his or her portfolio, and he singled out Education Minister Limor Livnat
as a minister who only comments on her ministry's affairs. "Stop expressing
yourselves. I don't see any reason for anyone to speak out on the issue
nowadays," said Sharon.
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- Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said that if Israel is
attacked by Iraq, it knows how to defend itself. He made the comment at
a press conference yesterday evening, following a meeting with European
Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana. Peres said he agreed with Sharon's
call for an end to Israeli government officials speaking publicly about
the expected U.S. attack on Iraq, saying that Israel must allow America
to take responsibility for the attack and not disturb its diplomatic efforts.
"The Americans are asking us to do something which is very difficult
for us as Israelis - to sit quietly," Pere said with a smile, "but
we need to make an effort and not say anything."
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- Meanwhile, a team of American military officers visited
Israel last week, working on planning and coordination with the Israel
Defense Forces in case of an attack on Iraq. The team's work was based
on the assumption that if Iraq attacks Israel, the U.S. will ask Israel
to show restraint and not to intervene in the war.
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- The Bush administration wants Israel to moderate its
statements before the American assault and to avoid retaliating should
Iraq attack it. American officials have already delivered messages along
these lines to an Israeli security delegation that visited Washington late
last week. Bush is likely to promise Sharon that the U.S. will do its utmost
to prevent Iraq from firing missiles at Israel and the Americans have proposed
deploying Patriot missiles in Israel as a defensive measure. A senior Israeli
official says Sharon is likely to agree to the proposal. "You can't
refuse a proposal to set up a defense system," the source said.
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- A top U.S. official meanwhile has expressed concern that
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat could try to "provoke"
Israel, because, believes the American official, Arafat and Saddam Hussein
share the same interests, against an American assault. He promised Israeli
officials that Bush would stick to his speech of June 24, in which the
president called for a replacement of Arafat.
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- According to sources in Jerusalem, America's main obstacle
now in preparation for the war is Turkey. The Americans need the cooperation
of two of Iraq's neighbors, Kuwait and Turkey, but the Turks want firm
American guarantees that the Kurds of northern Iraq will be integrated
into a future Baghdad government and not win independence, which Turkey
fears could turn its own Kurds irredentist.
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- Growing pressure for gas masks
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- Inside Israel, there is growing pressure by citizens
for their defensive kits, with defense sources saying that some 20,000
to 25,000 people lined up yesterday to get their gas masks. Since the start
of the month, manufacturers have stepped up their production after a special
budget was approved for this purpose.
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- An Eilat distribution station is due to open today. Although
the area is low in population numbers and considered highly unlikely as
a target, there has been pressure from the local population for a station
to distribute the kits.
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- Defense officials admit that pressure for gas masks always
rises on Sundays, and it is not at all clear that the levels of the queues
seen yesterday will remain stable.
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- http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo
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