Sharon: Iraq may be transporting banned weapons

Iraq may be transferring chemical and biological weapons to Syria, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in a TV interview tonight.

Sharon said Israel had information that “weapons he (Saddam Hussein) wanted to hide, chemical weapons, biological weapons, were indeed transferred to Syria”.

He said that the information has not been fully verified. ”We have some information to that effect. We are now working to confirm the information,” he told Israel TV’s Channel 2.

Sharon did not indicate where the information came from or what form it took.

Israel has been preparing for the possibility of Iraqi retaliation in case of a US-led assault against Iraq. During the 1991 Gulf war, Iraq fired 39 Scud missiles at Israel, causing considerable damage but few casualties.

Israel has vaccinated emergency and rescue workers against smallpox, concerned that Iraq might use the disease in a biological attack. Almost every day, the military’s Home Front Command carries out widely-publicised drills to practice dealing with missile attacks of various kinds.

Israel’s policy was repeated on Monday by Sharon. He said that if attacked, “Israel will know how to defend itself”, but he has not threatened automatic retaliation. In 1991, under stiff US pressure, Israel did not hit back for the Iraqi missile strikes.