World Tribune.com
Blanchard

Israel concerned about Iran's missiles, not Egypt's

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Tuesday, July 17, 2001

TEL AVIV Ñ Israel has acknowledged that Egypt is developing a variant of the North Korean No-Dong intermediate-range missile, but stressed that this does not threaten the Jewish state over the short-term.

Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer acknowledged Egypt's efforts to produce the No-Dong variant. Ben-Eliezer refused to provide details, but said the issue is being discussed in what he termed were diplomatic channels between Jerusalem and Washington.

Instead of Egypt, Israel has focused on the Iranian threat. Ben-Eliezer said Israel is stressing efforts to stop Iran's Shihab-3 missile program, Middle East Newsline reported.

The defense minister said Iran, with help from Iran, plans to install a chemical or biological warhead on the missile.

"They have not finished the Shihab-3 tests," Ben-Eliezer said. "But the Shihab will take chemical and bacteriological warheads."

"We are not exactly worried by the latest developments in Egypt," Ben-Eliezer said. "We are not the only neighbor of Egypt."

Defense officials said Israel has assessed that Egypt was not planning an attack on the Jewish state. Cairo's restraint, they said, would apply even if Iraq and Syria launch a war against Israel.

The Israeli military assessment is that Iraqi forces would be destroyed long before they arrive at the Jordanian or Syrian border with Israel. They said this would deter Egypt's military, which at most would move some units into the Sinai peninsula.

Israeli sources said the Egyptian No-Dong issue has been raised by the United States with Egypt. The result, they said, appears to be a suspension of plans by Egypt to import 50 North Korean engines for Cairo's intermediate-range missile program.

The Bush administration and Congress had warned that delivery of the North Korean engines could result in a backlash in Washington that could affect the annual $1.3 billion in U.S. military aid to Egypt, the sources said.

Since 1999, Egypt has accelerated intermediate-range missile development based on the North Korean No-Dong in a program that includes Libya. A U.S. defense source termed the Egyptian program as the Al Fatah and said it also includes technology and components from China and Iraq.

"Following the Iranian model, Egypt appears to be seeking the technological capabilities to produce its own missiles," a report released last month by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs and authored by Gerald Steinberg, a leading Israeli researcher on nonproliferation, said. "These activities have reportedly led to tension between Washington and Cairo."

Print this Article Print this Article Email this article Email this article Subscribe to this Feature Free Headline Alerts