JERUSALEM Ñ Israeli military intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Aharon Zeevi-Farkash has told
the Cabinet that Hizbullah has 30 rockets capable of reaching Tel Aviv, potentially armed with chemical warheads.
In his briefing, Zeevi-Farkash said Hizbullah has been equipped with
long-range surface-to-surface rockets that can reach the Tel Aviv area. The
general said Hizbullah has at least 30 rockets with ranges of 115 kilometers
and 215 kilometers. Another 500 were deemed as medium-range rockets, which
can reach a distance of about 75 kilometers.
The intelligence chief said Syria wants to tip some of the Hizbullah
rockets with chemical warheads. He said Syria has already been launching
tests of CW warheads on medium-range rockets. Hizbullah was said to have
more than 13,500 rockets and missiles stationed in southern and eastern
Lebanon, Middle East Newsline reported.
Zeevi-Farkash also told the Cabinet that Egypt has foiled a plot to smuggle 60 surface-to-surface
rockets to the Palestinian Authority and Palestinian insurgency groups.
Zeevi-Farkash said Hizbullah attempted to smuggle the rockets
through the Sinai Peninsula to weapons tunnels that connect with the
southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah.
Zeevi-Farkash was not quoted as saying whether the rockets were captured
or were still in the hands of arms dealers in the Sinai Peninsula. The
military intelligence chief said the rocket shipment was blocked before it
arrived in Rafah.
In May, Israeli intelligence reported that Palestinian insurgents had
ordered a large shipment of rockets, anti-tank missiles, rocket-propelled
grenades and surface-to-air missiles. Intelligence officers said a large
amount of Cobra RPGs from Egypt's defense industry was smuggled into the
Gaza Strip.
Hours later, Palestinian gunners fired anti-tank weapons and
Kassam-class short-range missiles toward Israeli communities throughout the
Gaza Strip. A Kassam missile landed near a community center in Neve
Dekalim and five children were injured.
Israeli officials have termed the Palestinian rocket and missile arsenal
a leading threat to the Jewish state. They said Israel and the United States
were developing the Mobile Tactical High Energy Laser to respond to the
Kassam threat.
Earlier, an Israeli Air Force AH-64A Apache attack helicopter targeted a
suspected Hamas weapons workshop in the northern Gaza Strip. Israeli
military sources said the facility, which produced Kassam missiles, was
struck.
In the West Bank, Israeli border police killed six Fatah insurgents in
the northern city of Tulkarm. The insurgents, who included the local Fatah
commander, were said to be heading for an attack inside Israel.