room the family had prepared in case of a possible
Iraqi attack.
The woman, 37, and her 13- and 14-year-old sons
died from lack of oxygen Sunday night due to a coal-
fired heater they used to warm the room. The father
of the family and two smaller children survived.
Israel's military defensive measures have been
implemented, including the deployment in Israel of
American Patriot missile batteries to back up Israel's
American strike is inevitable."
NAOMI SEGAL
Arrow anti-missile system, and a raised level of alert-
The defense minister said Israelis should not alter
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
ness in the Israeli air force.
their regular routine because of the heightened state
The latest developments followed months in
of civil defense preparations.
Jerusalem
which
Israelis have lived in uncertainty over how the
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was due to convene
welve years after Purim celebrations in
, Iraqi crisis will play out.
security
and
political
consultations
to
discuss
the
sit-
Israel marked the end of the first Persian
Maj.-Gen. Amos Gilad, chosen to serve as a
uation.
Gulf War, Israelis spent the holiday this
"national commentator" during the conflict, rejected
The
army
also
issued
call-up
orders
for
several
week preparing for the next war.
criticism that the army's gradual approach to prepar-
hundred reservists who serve in the Home Front
The Israel Defense Forces' Home Front
ing the public was confusing.
Command and anti-aircraft units.
Command on Tuesday ordered the public to prepare
"The easy decision could have been to" tell the
sealed rooms for protection against potential chemi-
public "to open the masks three months ago," he
cal or biological attack. The army said the public
said on Israel Radio. "The correct decision has to be
Home Front
should not yet open their gas mask kits.
taken at the right time."
The
civil
preparations,
detailed
in
an
instruction
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said President
As part of the heightened readiness, an Israeli pub-
booklet
distributed
by
the
Home
Front
Command
Bush's speech Monday giving dictator Saddam
lic
television channel was to begin broadcasting
several weeks ago, included purchasing plastic sheet-
Hussein and his sons 48 hours to leave Iraq or face
instructional
videos Tuesday on how to prepare a
ing and duct tape to seal a room; stocking up on
war motivated the decision to heighten the level of
sealed
room
and
how to put on gas masks. Gas mask
bottled water and canned and dry foods; buying bat-
civil defense readiness.
distribution
centers
were to be open for extended
teries for radios and flashlights in the event of a
. At the same time, Mofaz reiterated the view that
hours on Wednesday and Thursday.
power
outage;
and
packing
a
personal
bag
for
each
an Iraqi attack on Israel in response to a U.S.-led
Israel's fuel, electricity and water authorities said
family member in the event of an evacuation due to
military strike was very unlikely. "Our assessment
they
were prepared to go on emergency footing, and
a nonconventional attack.
hasn't changed. The threat is low and our prepared-
a
situation
room was being opened in the infrastruc-
The directive was the latest in a series of phased
ness is high," Mofaz said.
ture
ministry
in Jerusalem.
civil defense preparations that have been implement-
"What changed was the speech of President
ed over the past several months. The instructions
Bush essentially giving a clear ultimatum to
didn't help an Israeli Arab woman and her two teen-
Saddam Hussein and Iraq, and determining a
Schools Open
aged sons, who suffocated while sleeping in a sealed
timetable that when this ultimatum expires, the
Despite the heightened civil defense preparations,
Education Minister Limor Livnat, after consulta-
dons with Mofaz, said schools would be open as
normal on Thursday, following the Purim holiday.
Livnat said the decision was subject to change.
British Airways announced Tuesday that it would
halt all flights to Israel as of Wednesday night, until
further notice. The airline said the decision was in
line with a revised travel advisory the British Foreign
Council issued Monday, urging British citizens in
Israel and the Palestinian territories to leave the
region immediately.
The army announcement to prepare sealed rooms
did not appear to trigger a rush to buy supplies or
change gas mask kits. Gas mask distribution centers
have reported increased activity throughout the Iraqi
crisis. The head of the Home Front Command said
92 percent of Israelis already had refreshed their gas
mask kits, Army Radio reported.
There were no reports of runs on supplies at
stores, though the Consumer Council did receive
some complaints of alleged price-gauging on sealed-
room supplies.
On Monday, shoppers from Ramat Gan, which
was hit by Iraqi missiles in 1991, were divided over
whether to prepare sealed rooms. As some shoppers
loaded nylon sheeting and special protection kits for
pets into their carts, one woman said she was not
making any specific preparations.
"After the last war, some said the plastic and tape
wouldn't
have helped us anyway," she told Israel's
erusalem
mall,
as
an
Israeli
soldier
holds
An American living in Israel, Michal Silverstein, tries on a gas mask at a
Channel 2 television. "So what's different now?" ❑
her 11-month-old baby on March 16
War Footing
Israelis spend Purim preparing to seal rooms ahead of Iraq war.
T
3/21
2003
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