Israel nearly completes Phalcon system for China

WASHINGTON -- Israel has nearly completed the installation of a Phalcon airborne early-warning system on a Russian cargo jet for the Chinese air force.

U.S. intelligence agencies believe the jet will be delivered to Beijing over the next month, the Washington Times reported on Saturday.

The newspaper said the delivery will be the first of several such systems to the Chinese air force. The Times said the Israeli effort demonstrates that the government of Prime Minister Ehud Barak is ignoring warnings from the Clinton administration, particularly Defense Secretary William Cohen.

Cohen urged Barak last month to cancel the deal with Beijing. Barak is trying to hammer out a compromise that would shelve U.S. objections to the delivery of one Phalcon system.

China has an option to buy up to seven additional aircraft. The Pentagon said the Phalcon would upset the military balance with Taiwan.

In London, the Sunday Times reports that unamed Israeli intelligence officers intercepted e-mails from President Bill Clinton. The newspaper said the operation took place in 1998 during the tenure of then-Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. The Times said the Mossad was not informed of the interception.