Israel steps up surveillance after threats of regional war

TEL AVIV — Israel is concerned over calls for an Arab war and has increased surveillance of its neighbors.

Intelligence sources said Israel has increased monitoring of Lebanon and Syria amid what they said are Hizbullah's attempts to spark a regional war. They said Hizbullah has amassed hundreds of Katyusha rockets in southern Lebanon.

Moreover, the sources said, the air force has been placed on heightened alert amid the Palestinian violence and tension along the northern border with Israel. The sources said the air force has been allocated a major role in any fighting in either area.

So far, the sources said, neither Egypt nor Syria has indicated any troop movements that suggest an imminent war. But they said Iran and Iraq are calling for a military campaign and the Iranian-backed Hizbullah movement seeks to provoke Israel into attacking Lebanon.

Some parliamentarians said that unless the Palestinian confrontation with Israel ends they envision the Jewish state facing confronted by Iraqi forces, Syrian missiles and even an Egyptian threat to the Sinai.

Israel's military has also been closely monitoring Iraq. Intelligence sources said thousands of elite Iraqi troops are close to the border with Jordan and Syria. It is not clear whether the Republican Guards will arrive at either the Jordanian or Syrian border.

Intelligence sources said Iraq has between four and five armored divisions near Jordan, far more than the U.S. assessment. One division is near the Syrian border.

One scenario raised in Israel's military is that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein will fire a Scud-class missile toward the Jewish state in an attempt to spark a Middle East war. Intelligence sources said the Iraqi expeditionary force contains hundreds of tanks with a variety of shells.

Another scenario is an Iraqi attack on Israel's nuclear reactor in Dimona. This could comprise an attempt to avenge the 1981 Israeli attack on the Osirak reactor near Baghdad.

Intelligence sources said an Iraqi air attack appears more likely than a missile offensive.