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Teenagers shot by Israelis, then run over with a tank
After their mutilated bodies are returned, families of three teenagers struggle to understand why they attacked Jewish settlers
26 April 2002 18:40 GMT+1 Home > News > World > Middle East
Teenagers shot by Israelis, then run over with a tank
After their mutilated bodies are returned, families of three teenagers struggle to understand why they attacked Jewish settlers
By Robert Fisk in Gaza City
26 April 2002
Two of the schoolboys were 14, the other was 15; they were internet surfers in the local cyber cafe, one of them idling his hours away drawing children's cartoons; all three were football enthusiasts. Hours after they had been shot dead by the Israeli army near the Jewish settlement of Netzarim, their fathers received the three young bodies. They had been driven over by an armoured vehicle which in 14-year-old Ismail Abu-Nadi's case cut his corpse in half.
Knife-wielding suicide bombers approaching the Jewish settlement, according to the Israeli army and, of course, The New York Times. But even Hamas, creator of the vicious Palestinian campaign of suicide bombing, admits that the three schoolchildren all ninth-graders in the Salahadin School in Gaza City had naively planned to attack the settlement of their own accord and with, at most, knives. It urged preachers and schoolteachers to tell children that they should never embark on such wild schemes again.
And when the three boys' fathers talked to The Independent yesterday, they told a story of waste and tragedy and childhood anger at Israel's bloody invasion of the Jenin refugee camp. "I spent all last night asking myself why my son did this,'' Mohamed Abu-Nadi told me as we sat among mourners outside his middle-class home. "Did Ismail need money? No. Did he fail at school? No. He was first in his class. Were there problems with his family or friends? No. I asked myself the same questions over and over. Why? Can you tell me?''
It's a painful question to be asked by a distraught father, a highly educated civil engineer. Did Ismail want to die? His father said this would have been impossible until "three or four months ago''. That was when the schoolboy, born in Abu Dhabi and a fluent English speaker, began to ask his father why the Palestinians were given no outside help in their struggle for a state. "He asked me: 'Why is it that only the Palestinians cannot have a state? Why doesn't America help? Why don't the other Arab states help?'."
Bassem Zaqout, the father of 15-year-old Yussef none of the fathers have met, though their sons all attended the same school also thought the Jenin bloodbath influenced his son.
"When I came back from evening prayers on Tuesday, he had left the house," he said. "I had no idea why. Now I think the boys were walking towards the Jewish settlement with some kind of idea of attacking the Israelis there, but he never touched a weapon. When we got his body back yesterday, it was in a terrible state. Dogs had been at it in the night and his face was unrecognisable because it had been crushed by a heavy vehicle driving over it."
Adel Hamdona's 14-year-old son Anwar was returned to him in a similar condition. The father's description was cold, emotionless. "He didn't have a face. His legs had been severed. He had been driven over several times and had been pretty well disembowelled.''
Anwar's body, too, had been gnawed by dogs. Mr Hamdona said: "He was just a boy, a child. I am a teacher at his school. At five in the evening, he told his mother he was going to an internet cafe to surf the net. When he hadn't come home by nine, I felt something was wrong. Then we heard shooting from Netzarim."
And there's a clue as to why Mr Hamdona felt that "something was wrong". For Anwar had begun talking to his family about "martyrdom". "The events here had an effect on the boy. He was always talking about the suicide operations, about martyrs and the concept of martyrdom. He used to want to become a martyr. I had a suspicion that a few years later, when he grew up, he might do this but not now."
Ismail left what appears to be a farewell note to his parents. "One of his friends brought me a paper he had written," his father acknowledged after talking of his son's education and his puzzlement at the world's abandonment of Palestinians. "On the paper, Ismail had written: 'My father, my mother, please try to pray to God and to ask for me to succeed to enter Netzarim and to kill the Israeli soldiers and to drive them from our land'.
"I could not believe this. At his age, any other boy and I've been to England, the United States, India, Pakistan yes any other boy just wants to be educated, to be happy, to earn money, to be at peace. But our children here cannot find peace."
As for the condition of the bodies, none of the fathers wished to speculate on the reasons. Would the Israelis deliberately mutilate the bodies? It seems unlikely. Or did they, after shooting the three schoolboys, avoid the risk that one may be still alive and with a bomb still waiting to go off by driving over their remains? And when their bodies were crushed, were they all dead?
Teenagers shot by Israelis, then run over with a tank
After their mutilated bodies are returned, families of three teenagers struggle to understand why they attacked Jewish settlers
By Robert Fisk in Gaza City
26 April 2002
Two of the schoolboys were 14, the other was 15; they were internet surfers in the local cyber cafe, one of them idling his hours away drawing children's cartoons; all three were football enthusiasts. Hours after they had been shot dead by the Israeli army near the Jewish settlement of Netzarim, their fathers received the three young bodies. They had been driven over by an armoured vehicle which in 14-year-old Ismail Abu-Nadi's case cut his corpse in half.
Knife-wielding suicide bombers approaching the Jewish settlement, according to the Israeli army and, of course, The New York Times. But even Hamas, creator of the vicious Palestinian campaign of suicide bombing, admits that the three schoolchildren all ninth-graders in the Salahadin School in Gaza City had naively planned to attack the settlement of their own accord and with, at most, knives. It urged preachers and schoolteachers to tell children that they should never embark on such wild schemes again.
And when the three boys' fathers talked to The Independent yesterday, they told a story of waste and tragedy and childhood anger at Israel's bloody invasion of the Jenin refugee camp. "I spent all last night asking myself why my son did this,'' Mohamed Abu-Nadi told me as we sat among mourners outside his middle-class home. "Did Ismail need money? No. Did he fail at school? No. He was first in his class. Were there problems with his family or friends? No. I asked myself the same questions over and over. Why? Can you tell me?''
It's a painful question to be asked by a distraught father, a highly educated civil engineer. Did Ismail want to die? His father said this would have been impossible until "three or four months ago''. That was when the schoolboy, born in Abu Dhabi and a fluent English speaker, began to ask his father why the Palestinians were given no outside help in their struggle for a state. "He asked me: 'Why is it that only the Palestinians cannot have a state? Why doesn't America help? Why don't the other Arab states help?'."
Bassem Zaqout, the father of 15-year-old Yussef none of the fathers have met, though their sons all attended the same school also thought the Jenin bloodbath influenced his son.
"When I came back from evening prayers on Tuesday, he had left the house," he said. "I had no idea why. Now I think the boys were walking towards the Jewish settlement with some kind of idea of attacking the Israelis there, but he never touched a weapon. When we got his body back yesterday, it was in a terrible state. Dogs had been at it in the night and his face was unrecognisable because it had been crushed by a heavy vehicle driving over it."
Adel Hamdona's 14-year-old son Anwar was returned to him in a similar condition. The father's description was cold, emotionless. "He didn't have a face. His legs had been severed. He had been driven over several times and had been pretty well disembowelled.''
Anwar's body, too, had been gnawed by dogs. Mr Hamdona said: "He was just a boy, a child. I am a teacher at his school. At five in the evening, he told his mother he was going to an internet cafe to surf the net. When he hadn't come home by nine, I felt something was wrong. Then we heard shooting from Netzarim."
And there's a clue as to why Mr Hamdona felt that "something was wrong". For Anwar had begun talking to his family about "martyrdom". "The events here had an effect on the boy. He was always talking about the suicide operations, about martyrs and the concept of martyrdom. He used to want to become a martyr. I had a suspicion that a few years later, when he grew up, he might do this but not now."
Ismail left what appears to be a farewell note to his parents. "One of his friends brought me a paper he had written," his father acknowledged after talking of his son's education and his puzzlement at the world's abandonment of Palestinians. "On the paper, Ismail had written: 'My father, my mother, please try to pray to God and to ask for me to succeed to enter Netzarim and to kill the Israeli soldiers and to drive them from our land'.
"I could not believe this. At his age, any other boy and I've been to England, the United States, India, Pakistan yes any other boy just wants to be educated, to be happy, to earn money, to be at peace. But our children here cannot find peace."
As for the condition of the bodies, none of the fathers wished to speculate on the reasons. Would the Israelis deliberately mutilate the bodies? It seems unlikely. Or did they, after shooting the three schoolboys, avoid the risk that one may be still alive and with a bomb still waiting to go off by driving over their remains? And when their bodies were crushed, were they all dead?
For more information:
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle...
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UN team to leave for Jenin tomorrow
Last updated: 26-04-02, 17:28
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said today that he still expected his fact-finding mission to the Jenin refugee camp to leave tomorrow, despite Israel's request for a delay.
Mr Annan told reporters that talks between the United Nations and Israel on the composition and terms of reference of the mission were "going reasonably well."
Senior UN officials met for two and a half hours with four envoys from the Israeli government yesterday. The talks resumed at noon today (4 p.m. Irish time).
"We're giving them the appropriate clarifications, and I do expect our team to leave tomorrow," Mr Annan said.
"I don't think there is any reason for further delay."
AFP
© 2002 The Irish Times/ireland.com
Last updated: 26-04-02, 17:28
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said today that he still expected his fact-finding mission to the Jenin refugee camp to leave tomorrow, despite Israel's request for a delay.
Mr Annan told reporters that talks between the United Nations and Israel on the composition and terms of reference of the mission were "going reasonably well."
Senior UN officials met for two and a half hours with four envoys from the Israeli government yesterday. The talks resumed at noon today (4 p.m. Irish time).
"We're giving them the appropriate clarifications, and I do expect our team to leave tomorrow," Mr Annan said.
"I don't think there is any reason for further delay."
AFP
© 2002 The Irish Times/ireland.com
For more information:
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/...
Yeah, yeah, yeah, first they teach their children to hate the world around, to kill innocent people, and then they wonder how come their children get killed. By the way, a very nice photo collage above - did you use Photoshop or was it PaintShop Pro?
You are aware some Israelis (and their schools) also teach hate to their children. "Palestinians are cockroaches, animals..." you get the picture. Stop it. We don't need any more of your ****.
(WASHINGTON DC) April 26, 2002 .The Saudi Information Agency has obtained a
tape by prominent government official cleric Shaikh Saad Al-Buraik calling
for enslaving Jewish women. The tape is called "a Monkey Desecrates Mosque,"
and was delivered in a Riyadh government mosque. The monkey refers to Jews.
Al-Buraik, a Wahhabi cleric, is closely tied to Prince AbdulAziz Ben Fahd,
the king's youngest son, and member of the Saudi delegation accompanying
Crown Prince Abdullah on his current visit.
Al-Buraik was the host of the two-day long telethon raising funds for
Palestinians, which raised $109 million. He is also the host of "Religion
and Life," a program on government television Channel One and on MBC
television owned by Prince AbdulAziz Ben Fahd. Al-Buraik said on the tape
that the money raised would go to Palestinian fighters.
The following are excerpts of the tape:
On the situation in the Palestinian areas he said:
Oh Believer, it's a wish, as much as it is pains, but we have hopes that the
situation in Palestine will explode. No one dies before their day. How many
Muslims have died in Chechnya, Bosnia, Kashmir, and Kosovo!!
Is it too dear to us that among our honorable beloved die as martyrs? Their
death dates were written before their birth. That they die as martyrs. "Say
even if were at your home, those who will die will walk to their death."
Which is a better choice, to die on your bed, or to die perseverant,
fighting, not retreating. Which is better to suffer long before death many
days, or taste death quickly?
Which is better to suffer a slow death, or die as a martyr in your way to
heaven. A death that you will be forgiven on the first drop of your blood.
When life became perishes we started to drink humiliation many times over.
Oh Palestinian Authority, don't you see that you are tested once or twice a
year? Then you don't learned or repent.
Isn't time yet to wage jihad, and call for holy war. Isn't time that Muslim
countries which normalized relations with the Jews to cancel everything that
happened from Madrid to Oslo, and Why River, which forbids the supplying of
weapons to Muslims in Palestine?
The agreements which canceled jihad, and disassociation from non-Muslims,
should all be demolished.
It's a call to close all embassies opened for the Jews in the land of Islam;
it is call to end normalization with Israel.
What international resolution that the Jew respected, prepared by
Christians.
On Jews and Christians he said:
People should know that Jews are backed by the Christians, and the battle
that we are going through is not with Jews only, but also with those who
believe that Allah is a third in a Trinity, and those who said that Jesus is
the son of Allah, and Allah is Jesus, the son of Mary.
About America he said:
I am against America until this life ends, until the Day of Judgment;
I am against America even if the stone liquefies
My hatred of America, if part of it was contained in the universe, it would
collapse.
She is the root of all evils, and wickedness on earth.
Who else implanted the tyrants in our land, who else nurtured oppression?
Oh Muslim Ummah don't take the Jews and Christians as allies.
Jewish women as slaves he says:
Muslim Brothers in Palestine, do not have any mercy neither compassion on
the Jews, their blood, their money, their flesh. Their women are yours to
take, legitimately. God made them yours. Why don't you enslave their women?
Why don't you wage jihad? Why don't you pillage them?
To listen to the entire tape open the below link:
http://media.islamway.com/arabic/images/lessons/burek/monkey.rm
tape by prominent government official cleric Shaikh Saad Al-Buraik calling
for enslaving Jewish women. The tape is called "a Monkey Desecrates Mosque,"
and was delivered in a Riyadh government mosque. The monkey refers to Jews.
Al-Buraik, a Wahhabi cleric, is closely tied to Prince AbdulAziz Ben Fahd,
the king's youngest son, and member of the Saudi delegation accompanying
Crown Prince Abdullah on his current visit.
Al-Buraik was the host of the two-day long telethon raising funds for
Palestinians, which raised $109 million. He is also the host of "Religion
and Life," a program on government television Channel One and on MBC
television owned by Prince AbdulAziz Ben Fahd. Al-Buraik said on the tape
that the money raised would go to Palestinian fighters.
The following are excerpts of the tape:
On the situation in the Palestinian areas he said:
Oh Believer, it's a wish, as much as it is pains, but we have hopes that the
situation in Palestine will explode. No one dies before their day. How many
Muslims have died in Chechnya, Bosnia, Kashmir, and Kosovo!!
Is it too dear to us that among our honorable beloved die as martyrs? Their
death dates were written before their birth. That they die as martyrs. "Say
even if were at your home, those who will die will walk to their death."
Which is a better choice, to die on your bed, or to die perseverant,
fighting, not retreating. Which is better to suffer long before death many
days, or taste death quickly?
Which is better to suffer a slow death, or die as a martyr in your way to
heaven. A death that you will be forgiven on the first drop of your blood.
When life became perishes we started to drink humiliation many times over.
Oh Palestinian Authority, don't you see that you are tested once or twice a
year? Then you don't learned or repent.
Isn't time yet to wage jihad, and call for holy war. Isn't time that Muslim
countries which normalized relations with the Jews to cancel everything that
happened from Madrid to Oslo, and Why River, which forbids the supplying of
weapons to Muslims in Palestine?
The agreements which canceled jihad, and disassociation from non-Muslims,
should all be demolished.
It's a call to close all embassies opened for the Jews in the land of Islam;
it is call to end normalization with Israel.
What international resolution that the Jew respected, prepared by
Christians.
On Jews and Christians he said:
People should know that Jews are backed by the Christians, and the battle
that we are going through is not with Jews only, but also with those who
believe that Allah is a third in a Trinity, and those who said that Jesus is
the son of Allah, and Allah is Jesus, the son of Mary.
About America he said:
I am against America until this life ends, until the Day of Judgment;
I am against America even if the stone liquefies
My hatred of America, if part of it was contained in the universe, it would
collapse.
She is the root of all evils, and wickedness on earth.
Who else implanted the tyrants in our land, who else nurtured oppression?
Oh Muslim Ummah don't take the Jews and Christians as allies.
Jewish women as slaves he says:
Muslim Brothers in Palestine, do not have any mercy neither compassion on
the Jews, their blood, their money, their flesh. Their women are yours to
take, legitimately. God made them yours. Why don't you enslave their women?
Why don't you wage jihad? Why don't you pillage them?
To listen to the entire tape open the below link:
http://media.islamway.com/arabic/images/lessons/burek/monkey.rm
Israel
Weapons of Mass Destruction Capabilities and Programs1
Nuclear2 Sophisticated nuclear weapons program with an estimated 100-200 weapons, which can be delivered by ballistic missiles or aircraft.
Nuclear arsenal may include thermonuclear weapons.
150MW heavy water reactor and plutonium reprocessing facility at Dimona, which are not under IAEA safeguards.
IRR-1 5MW research reactor at Soreq, under IAEA safeguards.
Not a signatory of the NPT; signed the CTBT on 9/25/96.
Chemical3 Active weapons program, but not believed to have deployed chemical warheads on ballistic missiles.
Production capability for mustard and nerve agents.
Signed the CWC on 1/13/93, currently debating its ratification.
Biological4 Production capability and extensive research reportedly conducted at the Biological Research Institute in Ness Ziona.
No publicly confirmed evidence of production.
Not a signatory of the BTWC.
Ballistic missiles5 Approximately 50 Jericho-2 missiles with 1,500km range and 1,000kg payload, nuclear warheads may be stored in close proximity.
Approximately 50 Jericho-1 missiles with 500km range and 500kg payload.
MGM-52 Lance missiles with 130km range and 450kg payload..
Shavit space launch vehicle (SLV) with 4,500km range and 150kg to 250kg payload.
Unconfirmed reports of Jericho-3 program under development using Shavit technologies, with a range up to 4,800km and 1000kg payload.
Developing Next (Shavit upgrade) SLV with unknown range and 300-500kg payload.
Cruise missiles6 Harpy lethal unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with 500km range and unknown payload.
Delilah/STAR-1 UAV with 400km range and 50kg payload.
Gabriel-4 anti-ship cruise missile with 200km range and 500kg payload.
Harpoon anti-ship cruise missile with 120km range and 220kg payload.
Other delivery systems7 Fighter and ground-attack aircraft incllude: 2 F-15I, 6 F-15D, 18 F-15C, 2 F-15B, 36 F-15A, 54 F-16D, 76 F-16C, 8 F-16B, 67 F-16A, 50 F-4E-2000, 25 F-4E, 20 Kfir C7, and 50 A-4N.
Ground systems include artillery and rocket launchers. Also, Popeye-3 land-attack air-launched missile with 350km range and 360kg payload, and Popeye-1 land-attack air-launched missile with 100km range and 395kg payload.
Sources:
This chart summarizes data available from public sources. Precise assessment of a state's capabilities is difficult because most weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs remain secret and cannot be verified independently.
Most public estimates range between 100-200 weapons (e.g., Amy Dockser Marcus, "Growing Dangers: U.S. Drive to Curb Doomsday Weapons In Mideast Is Faltering," Wall Street Journal, 9/6/96, p. A1), but one analyst concludes that "the Israeli nuclear arsenal contains as many as 400 deliverable nuclear and thermonuclear weapons." Harold Hough, "Could Israel's Nuclear Assets Survive A First Strike?" Jane's Intelligence Review, 9/97, p. 410. Israel's nuclear capability is by most accounts quite sophisticated, and may include "intercontinental-range, fractional-orbit-delivered thermonuclear weapons; thermonuclear or boosted nuclear-armed, two-stage, solid-fuel, intermediate-range ballistic missiles with a range of 3,000km; older, less accurate, nuclear-armed, theatre-range, solid-fuel ballistic missiles; air-deliverable, variable-yield, boosted nuclear bombs; artillery-delivered, enhanced-radiation, tactical weapons; and small nuclear demolition charges." Kenneth S. Brower, "A Propensity For Conflict: Potential Scenarios And Outcomes Of War In The Middle East," Jane's Intelligence Review Special Report No. 14, p. 15. See also: Anthony H. Cordesman, "Weapons of Mass Destruction in the Middle East: National Efforts, War Fighting Capabilities, Weapons Lethality, Terrorism, and Arms Control Implications" (Washington, DC: Center for Strategic and International Studies, 2/98), p. 19. "Nuclear Forces Guide," Federation of American Scientists, 10/10/97, [Online] http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/israel/facility/index.html. International Atomic Energy Agency, "Situation on 31 December 1996 with respect to the conclusion of safeguards agreements between the Agency and non-nuclear-weapon States in connection with the NPT," [Online] http://www.iaea.or.at/worldatom/program/safeguards/96tables/safenpt.html. Nuclear Engineering International, 1998 World Nuclear Industry Handbook (Essex, UK: Wilmington Publishing Ltd, 1998), p. 114.
Dana Priest, "In U.S. Weapons Crusade, Allies Get Scant Mention," Washington Post, 4/14/98, p. 1. Cordesman p. 18-19. Steve Rodan, "Bitter Choices: Israel's Chemical Dilemma," Jerusalem Post, 8/18/97, [Online] http://www.jpost.co.il. David Makovsky, "Israel Must Ratify Chemical Treaty," Ha'aretz, 1/8/98, [Online] http://www3.haaretz.co.il/eng.
Cordesman, p. 19. "Chemical and Biological Weapons Facilities," Federation of American Scientists, 10/10/97, [Online] http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/israel/facility/cbw.htm. P.R. Kumaraswamy, "Marcus Klingberg and Israel's ‘Biological Option,'" Middle East International, 8/16/96, pp. 21-22. Zafir Rinat, "Nerve Gas Antidote in Works," Ha'aretz, 12/12/97, [Online] http://www3.haaretz.co.il/eng. Edna Homa Hunt, "Israel's Biological and Chemical Research and Development – Potential Menace at Home and Abroad," Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, 4/98, pp. 84, 93. Liat Collins, "Bio Institute to Come Under Close Inspection," Jerusalem Post, 2/19/97, [Online] http://www.jpost.co.il. P.R. Kumaraswamy, "Has Israel Kept its BW Options Open?" Jane's Intelligence Review, 3/98, p. 22.
"Missile and Space Launch Capabilities of Selected Countries," The Nonproliferation Review, forthcoming 1998. Duncan Lennox, ed., "Country Inventory – In Service," "In-Service Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missiles," "In Service Short-Range Ballistic Missiles," "Shavit," and "Offensive Weapons - Unclassified Projects, Israel," Jane's Strategic Weapons Systems Issue 24, 5/97. Cordesman, p.18. "Missile Master Table: Finland-Japan," Centre for Defence and International Security Studies, [Online] http://www.cdiss.org/master2.htm. Directorate of Space Programs, US Air Force Acquisitions, "Shavit," [Online] http://www.safaq.af.hq.mil/aqs/vehicle/shavit.htm. Pierre Langereux, "Dassault Lifts the Lid on the Jericho Missile Story," Air & Cosmos/Aviation International, no. 1590, 12/6/96, p. 36. Shawn L. Twing, "Israel Seeks US Permission to Launch Rockets from NASA Facility in Virginia," Washington Report On Middle East Affairs, 4-5/97, pp. 29, 85. Tim Furniss, "Satellite Launcher Directory," Flight International, 12/10-16/97, pp. 28-34. Foreign Defense Assistance and Defense Export Organization (SIBAT), Israel's Defense Sales Directory, 1997/98 (Tel Aviv: Ministry of Defense, 1997), p. 84.
Lennox. Cordesman, p. 18. CDISS. Lennox, "Offensive Weapons - Unclassified Projects, Israel." SIBAT, pp. 53, 55, 57. Israel possesses all three versions of the US-made Harpoon cruise missile, which are designed for launch from ships (AGM 84A), submarines (RGM 84A), and aircraft (UGM 84A).
The Military Balance 1997/98 (London: International Institute for Strategic Studies, 1997), pp. 129-130. Arieh O'Sullivan, "New F-15I Warplanes Extend Israel's Reach," The Jerusalem Post [Online] http://www.jpost.co.il/. Ze'ev Schiff, "F-15Is Are Not The Complete Answer To The Iran Threat," Ha'aretz, 1/20/98, [Online] http://www3.haaretz.co.il/.
Prepared by Michael Barletta and Erik Jorgensen,
© Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey Institute of International Studies.
Weapons of Mass Destruction Capabilities and Programs1
Nuclear2 Sophisticated nuclear weapons program with an estimated 100-200 weapons, which can be delivered by ballistic missiles or aircraft.
Nuclear arsenal may include thermonuclear weapons.
150MW heavy water reactor and plutonium reprocessing facility at Dimona, which are not under IAEA safeguards.
IRR-1 5MW research reactor at Soreq, under IAEA safeguards.
Not a signatory of the NPT; signed the CTBT on 9/25/96.
Chemical3 Active weapons program, but not believed to have deployed chemical warheads on ballistic missiles.
Production capability for mustard and nerve agents.
Signed the CWC on 1/13/93, currently debating its ratification.
Biological4 Production capability and extensive research reportedly conducted at the Biological Research Institute in Ness Ziona.
No publicly confirmed evidence of production.
Not a signatory of the BTWC.
Ballistic missiles5 Approximately 50 Jericho-2 missiles with 1,500km range and 1,000kg payload, nuclear warheads may be stored in close proximity.
Approximately 50 Jericho-1 missiles with 500km range and 500kg payload.
MGM-52 Lance missiles with 130km range and 450kg payload..
Shavit space launch vehicle (SLV) with 4,500km range and 150kg to 250kg payload.
Unconfirmed reports of Jericho-3 program under development using Shavit technologies, with a range up to 4,800km and 1000kg payload.
Developing Next (Shavit upgrade) SLV with unknown range and 300-500kg payload.
Cruise missiles6 Harpy lethal unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with 500km range and unknown payload.
Delilah/STAR-1 UAV with 400km range and 50kg payload.
Gabriel-4 anti-ship cruise missile with 200km range and 500kg payload.
Harpoon anti-ship cruise missile with 120km range and 220kg payload.
Other delivery systems7 Fighter and ground-attack aircraft incllude: 2 F-15I, 6 F-15D, 18 F-15C, 2 F-15B, 36 F-15A, 54 F-16D, 76 F-16C, 8 F-16B, 67 F-16A, 50 F-4E-2000, 25 F-4E, 20 Kfir C7, and 50 A-4N.
Ground systems include artillery and rocket launchers. Also, Popeye-3 land-attack air-launched missile with 350km range and 360kg payload, and Popeye-1 land-attack air-launched missile with 100km range and 395kg payload.
Sources:
This chart summarizes data available from public sources. Precise assessment of a state's capabilities is difficult because most weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs remain secret and cannot be verified independently.
Most public estimates range between 100-200 weapons (e.g., Amy Dockser Marcus, "Growing Dangers: U.S. Drive to Curb Doomsday Weapons In Mideast Is Faltering," Wall Street Journal, 9/6/96, p. A1), but one analyst concludes that "the Israeli nuclear arsenal contains as many as 400 deliverable nuclear and thermonuclear weapons." Harold Hough, "Could Israel's Nuclear Assets Survive A First Strike?" Jane's Intelligence Review, 9/97, p. 410. Israel's nuclear capability is by most accounts quite sophisticated, and may include "intercontinental-range, fractional-orbit-delivered thermonuclear weapons; thermonuclear or boosted nuclear-armed, two-stage, solid-fuel, intermediate-range ballistic missiles with a range of 3,000km; older, less accurate, nuclear-armed, theatre-range, solid-fuel ballistic missiles; air-deliverable, variable-yield, boosted nuclear bombs; artillery-delivered, enhanced-radiation, tactical weapons; and small nuclear demolition charges." Kenneth S. Brower, "A Propensity For Conflict: Potential Scenarios And Outcomes Of War In The Middle East," Jane's Intelligence Review Special Report No. 14, p. 15. See also: Anthony H. Cordesman, "Weapons of Mass Destruction in the Middle East: National Efforts, War Fighting Capabilities, Weapons Lethality, Terrorism, and Arms Control Implications" (Washington, DC: Center for Strategic and International Studies, 2/98), p. 19. "Nuclear Forces Guide," Federation of American Scientists, 10/10/97, [Online] http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/israel/facility/index.html. International Atomic Energy Agency, "Situation on 31 December 1996 with respect to the conclusion of safeguards agreements between the Agency and non-nuclear-weapon States in connection with the NPT," [Online] http://www.iaea.or.at/worldatom/program/safeguards/96tables/safenpt.html. Nuclear Engineering International, 1998 World Nuclear Industry Handbook (Essex, UK: Wilmington Publishing Ltd, 1998), p. 114.
Dana Priest, "In U.S. Weapons Crusade, Allies Get Scant Mention," Washington Post, 4/14/98, p. 1. Cordesman p. 18-19. Steve Rodan, "Bitter Choices: Israel's Chemical Dilemma," Jerusalem Post, 8/18/97, [Online] http://www.jpost.co.il. David Makovsky, "Israel Must Ratify Chemical Treaty," Ha'aretz, 1/8/98, [Online] http://www3.haaretz.co.il/eng.
Cordesman, p. 19. "Chemical and Biological Weapons Facilities," Federation of American Scientists, 10/10/97, [Online] http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/israel/facility/cbw.htm. P.R. Kumaraswamy, "Marcus Klingberg and Israel's ‘Biological Option,'" Middle East International, 8/16/96, pp. 21-22. Zafir Rinat, "Nerve Gas Antidote in Works," Ha'aretz, 12/12/97, [Online] http://www3.haaretz.co.il/eng. Edna Homa Hunt, "Israel's Biological and Chemical Research and Development – Potential Menace at Home and Abroad," Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, 4/98, pp. 84, 93. Liat Collins, "Bio Institute to Come Under Close Inspection," Jerusalem Post, 2/19/97, [Online] http://www.jpost.co.il. P.R. Kumaraswamy, "Has Israel Kept its BW Options Open?" Jane's Intelligence Review, 3/98, p. 22.
"Missile and Space Launch Capabilities of Selected Countries," The Nonproliferation Review, forthcoming 1998. Duncan Lennox, ed., "Country Inventory – In Service," "In-Service Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missiles," "In Service Short-Range Ballistic Missiles," "Shavit," and "Offensive Weapons - Unclassified Projects, Israel," Jane's Strategic Weapons Systems Issue 24, 5/97. Cordesman, p.18. "Missile Master Table: Finland-Japan," Centre for Defence and International Security Studies, [Online] http://www.cdiss.org/master2.htm. Directorate of Space Programs, US Air Force Acquisitions, "Shavit," [Online] http://www.safaq.af.hq.mil/aqs/vehicle/shavit.htm. Pierre Langereux, "Dassault Lifts the Lid on the Jericho Missile Story," Air & Cosmos/Aviation International, no. 1590, 12/6/96, p. 36. Shawn L. Twing, "Israel Seeks US Permission to Launch Rockets from NASA Facility in Virginia," Washington Report On Middle East Affairs, 4-5/97, pp. 29, 85. Tim Furniss, "Satellite Launcher Directory," Flight International, 12/10-16/97, pp. 28-34. Foreign Defense Assistance and Defense Export Organization (SIBAT), Israel's Defense Sales Directory, 1997/98 (Tel Aviv: Ministry of Defense, 1997), p. 84.
Lennox. Cordesman, p. 18. CDISS. Lennox, "Offensive Weapons - Unclassified Projects, Israel." SIBAT, pp. 53, 55, 57. Israel possesses all three versions of the US-made Harpoon cruise missile, which are designed for launch from ships (AGM 84A), submarines (RGM 84A), and aircraft (UGM 84A).
The Military Balance 1997/98 (London: International Institute for Strategic Studies, 1997), pp. 129-130. Arieh O'Sullivan, "New F-15I Warplanes Extend Israel's Reach," The Jerusalem Post [Online] http://www.jpost.co.il/. Ze'ev Schiff, "F-15Is Are Not The Complete Answer To The Iran Threat," Ha'aretz, 1/20/98, [Online] http://www3.haaretz.co.il/.
Prepared by Michael Barletta and Erik Jorgensen,
© Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey Institute of International Studies.
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