JERUSALEM (AP) —
Israelis lined up at gas-mask distribution centers Wednesday and communities
bordering Syria readied bomb shelters as top government officials held
emergency meetings amid fears of a possible Syrian attack on Israel. Israel
also deployed additional missile defense systems near the country's border with
Syria.
Supported by allies in
the West, the U.S. has signaled that it may soon strike Syria in response to
its alleged use of chemical weapons last week. That has raised speculation that
Syria might retaliate with an attack on Israel, a close U.S. ally.
Israeli demand for gas
masks has tripled in recent days, said Maya Avishai of the Israeli postal
service, which oversees gas mask distribution. About five million Israelis,
roughly 60 percent of the population, now have gas masks and all of the
country's citizens are eligible for them, she said.
A large crowd gathered a
Tel Aviv distribution center Wednesday, where Galia Cohen was among those
waiting in line for hours to collect free masks for herself and her family.
"I have two
children and I am afraid for my children," she said.
Sivan Yehieli, chairman
of a civilian emergency response committee along Israel's northern border with
Syria and Lebanon, told Army Radio that towns in the region were preparing for
a possible attack, readying bomb shelters and drilling school children on how
to flee to shelters.
"The citizens need
to be prepared just like the army," said Yehieli. "We don't want to
find ourselves surprised."
A parliamentary
committee in charge of civil defense was meeting Wednesday to discuss the gas
mask distribution efforts. Israeli army commanders and top officials and
security chiefs have also been meeting in recent days to discuss and assess the
situation in Syria.
No special troop
movements or exercises have been ordered, but additional Iron Dome and Patriot
missile defense batteries were deployed Wednesday in Israeli areas near the
Syrian border, Israeli defense officials said.
Israel uses U.S.-made
Patriot missile defense batteries against medium-range missiles, and the Iron
Dome system is designed to intercept rockets fired from short distances of up
to 70 kilometers (50 miles). Israel says the Iron Dome system shot down one of
the four rockets launched from Lebanon into northern Israel last week, and
intercepted a rocket fired toward the Red Sea resort town of Eilat earlier this
month. The Iron Dome system has also intercepted rockets launched from the Gaza
Strip.
The defense officials
also said they believed the U.S. would carry out an attack on Syria within
days, and that Israel would receive U.S. notification before any strike. They
spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing confidential security
assessments.
On Tuesday, Netanyahu
warned Syria that if Israel is targeted, it will respond "with
force."
Israel and Syria are
bitter enemies. But Israel has kept its distance from the Syrian civil war, in
part because it does not want to get dragged into the conflict and also because
many of the factions battling the Syrian regime are hostile to Israel.
More than 100,000 people have been killed in Syria. Violence has
occasionally spilled over into the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, where
Syrian mortar shells have landed. Israel has occasionally accused Syria of
aiming at Israeli targets, and Israeli troops have returned fire.
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