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Israel Faced With Spectre of Two-front War
Israel wrestled with the prospect of warfare on two fronts following the killing in a Lebanese border attack of one of its soldiers, who was to be buried on Sunday.
Israeli Prime Minister-elect Ariel Sharon kept up momentum in his efforts to form a coalition government to unite the country in its efforts to deal with almost five months of Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation.
The hawkish Likud leader and winner of this month's election was due to hold late night meetings on Saturday to discuss the distribution of cabinet portfolios with opposition Labour party officials.
Friday's Lebanese Hizbollah guerrilla missile attack on an Israeli convoy killed Israeli Sergeant Elad Shneor, who was to be buried on Sunday. This attack, together with echoes of the 1991 Gulf War and simmering Palestinian tensions pose formidable challenges for the emerging Israeli unity government.
Sharon has said Israel will not negotiate with the Palestinians if there is a continuation of the unrest in which almost 400 people have died.
Israel's Deputy Defence Minister Ephraim Sneh said there was no need for Israelis to worry about an immediate Iraqi threat after US and British jets struck Iraqi targets near Baghdad on Friday night.
"At this point I don't think that we have a reason to worry, but that doesn't mean that because we don't have to worry about last night, we should ignore Iraq as a threat that is carrying on and intensifying," he told Israel Radio.
Dozens of Iraqi Scud missiles slammed into Israel 10 years ago after Western and Arab allies launched an assault to drive Iraqi forces from Kuwait.
Iraq's News Agency said Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was considering possible retaliatory action after the attacks that the Pentagon described as a response to increased Iraqi anti-aircraft activity against planes enforcing a no-fly zone.
Outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Barak spoke by telephone on Saturday to US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who updated him on Friday's air strike against Iraq, and Barak decided the situation did not warrant any special Israeli measures, a statement issued by Barak's office said.
(www.chinadaily.com.cn)
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