Do you think Israelis well have good enough defense and enough masks for the start of WW III?
Israeli Rush for Gas Masks Fearing Retaliation for Syria Strike
By Calev Ben-David - Aug 29, 2013 7:17 AM PT
Israelis thronged to distribution centers to pick up government-issued gas masks, afraid their country will be targeted in retaliation if the U.S. attacks Syria.
The Israel Postal Service, which is distributing the masks, announced on its website that the centers would extend their hours until evening “due to extraordinary demand.” In Haifa, the biggest city closest to the northern border with Lebanon and Syria, people waited in line for hours, Israel Radio said. Some centers ran out of masks.
“I’m disappointed there aren’t enough masks, but I’m also upset at myself because my mother told me six months ago I should take care of this,” said Inbal Demma, 28, ofJerusalem, who had come to pick up masks and an infant gas tent at the city’s Hadar mall for herself, her husband and their 2-month-old daughter.
The U.S. and its allies began exploring military action after some Syrian opposition groups said 1,300 people died in an Aug. 21 chemical attack in the Ghouta area outside Damascus.Israel, sitting on Syria’s southern border and a longtime foe, would be a potential target for retribution.
Syria’s foreign minister, Walid al-Muallem, made the linkage yesterday when he said the U.S. and Israel don’t want a political solution. Ally Iran has explicitly identified Israel as a target for reprisal, with the miltiary’s deputy chief, Masoud Jazayeri, saying Israel would “burn” from the fire of any strike on Syria, the state-run Press TV news channel reported yesterday.
Mixed Messages
Israeli leaders have urged citizens to remain calm while warning that any attack against their country would provoke a harsh response.
“Israel was not, and is not, involved in the Syrian fighting, but if anyone tries to harm us we will respond with all our might,” President Shimon Peres said today during a visit to Jerusalem police headquarters. “The reports aimed at Israel are an attempt to create panic, but Israel is too experienced to fall for false propaganda.”
Some analysts and former military officials assess the likelihood of a retaliatory attack as slim.
It’s “a possibility that can’t be ignored,” said Yiftah Shapir, director of the Military Balance Project at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv. “On the other hand, rationally, I don’t think they need another front against Israel. They are very much involved in a war for their survival and don’t need another war in their back yard.”
Likelihood Seen Slim
While Shapir didn’t rule out an attack by pro-Syria Hezbollah, he said that wasn’t in the Lebanese militant group’s interest because it is fighting alongside Syria and under fire at home for joining that conflict.
Israel first distributed gas masks to its citizens before the 1991 Gulf War, during which Iraqfired Scud missiles at the Jewish state after the U.S. attacked Iraq for invading Kuwait. None of the missiles carried chemical weapons.
Israel has bolstered its air defenses in the northern part of the country, and has called up reserves in air force, military intelligence and home front units.
“We are getting ready and are prepared, but there is no panic, no escalation, and things are being done judiciously.” Israeli Defense Moshe Ya’alon said yesterday.
To contact the reporter on this story: Calev Ben-David in Jerusalem atcbendavid@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew J. Barden at barden@bloomberg.net
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