- The United States has offered Israel a new generation
of Patriot missiles that could intercept missiles fired from Iraq, public
television reported here.
-
- The new Patriots specially designed to destroy Scud missiles
in flight would be placed under the control of US troops deployed in Israel,
the television added.
-
- Quoting high-ranking officials, however, the television
said Israel would decline the offer on the grounds that it already had
Hetz (arrow) anti-missile missiles developed in cooperation with the United
States to face up to a possible Iraqi attack.
-
- Furthermore, Israeli leaders fear that the presence of
US troops in Israel would provide a pretext for Iraqi President Saddam
Hussein to attack.
-
- In 1991 during the Gulf war 39 Iraqi Scuds hit Israeli
territory, killing two people and wounding hundreds, despite the presence
of earlier model Patriot batteries.
-
- Since August the Israeli army has had Hetz batteries
deployed north of Tel Aviv in case of an American attack on Iraq.
-
- On November 7, an Israeli-American team successfully
tested the latest Patriot model, an Israeli military source said. The missiles
have been deployed to protect Israel's nuclear plant at Dimona in the Negev.
-
- On Monday a German defence ministry spokesman said Israel
had asked Germany for Patriot missiles to be used in case of Iraqi attacks
during any US military intervention in Iraq.
-
- "It is true that Israel has asked Germany to supply
it with Patriot anti-missile missiles," the spokesman said in a statement,
confirming information to appear in Tuesday's edition of Die Welt newspaper.
-
- He said the German government "is currently studying
this request."
-
- Israel has not officially confirmed or denied the report.
-
-
-
- Copyright © 2002 AFP. All rights reserved. All information
displayed in this section (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected
by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence
you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any
way commercially exploit any of the contents of this section without the
prior written consent of Agence France-Presses.
|