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Palestinian Militants Applaud Use of Poison in Bombs

JERUSALEM (AP) - The military wing of the Islamic militant group Hamas said on Wednesday that it had dealt a blow to Israeli morale by planting poisonous chemicals on the bombs its activists have detonated of late.

Israel's Health Ministry revealed this week that nails and bolts packed into explosives detonated by a Hamas suicide bomber Dec. 1 in a Jerusalem pedestrian mall had been dipped into rat poison. The report unnerved many Israelis who already live with the fear of a biochemical attack from Iraq.

On its Web site, Izzedine al-Qassam claimed its militants now had a new weapon that had created "a situation of fear in the Zionist security services." The Hamas military wing cited Israeli media reports of public consternation at the prospect of Palestinian chemical warfare.

It did not say what chemicals it might have.

Israeli police spokesman Gil Kleiman said that since 1994, traces of various toxic chemicals have been found in at least five Palestinian bombing attacks. But he said it was unclear if they had been deliberately introduced to enhance the bombs' deadliness or if the explosives used were transported in containers that had previously contained other substances.

The Health Ministry has said that so far the blasts have destroyed the poisons' potency and no bomb victims had been harmed by the chemicals. Security officials says Palestinian groups have not been able to build bombs with more toxic chemicals - like nerve or mustard gas.

Kleiman said police and others who work at bomb scenes have been issued protective overalls, but that the chemical threat was really a minor one. "It's the bombs that do the damage, not any poisons that may be in them,' he said.

An aide to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said the use of chemicals was cause for concern but not panic. "Its not that what was discovered was in any way alarming," said Sharon spokesman Rannan Gissin. "But if Hamas and Islamic Jihad are going to escalate their terror campaign it is obviously something of which we have to take note."

Due to concerns over the use of chemicals, hazardous waste experts responded to the scene of a suicide bombing in the port city of Haifa on Sunday, which killed the bomber and injured 29 people. No traces of chemicals were found.

The Health Ministry said that in the event bomb casualties are contaminated with toxic substances, hospital staff are trained and well-equipped with protective gear and medicines.

Iraq fired missiles at Israel during the 1991 Gulf War. They turned out not to be carrying biochemical payloads, but most Israelis still have gas masks and self-injection kits holding an antidote to nerve gas.

Baghdad has hinted it would bombard Israel again if it is attacked by the United States as part of its global anti-terror campaign. Israeli experts say Saddam Hussein might order use of chemical or biological weapons if he thought his regime was about to be toppled.

-- Anonymous, December 12, 2001