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Report:
US Gave Israel Advanced Missile-detecting System
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American
made F-16 plane firing a rocket onto Palestinian territories |
WASHINGTON,
March 9, (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The U.S. gave Israel an
advanced system to detect incoming ballistic missiles, like Scuds
from Iraq, more quickly, reported an Israeli daily newspaper, the
Jerusalem Post, Friday.
The
system links with the Arrow anti-missile system and enhances its
early warning capability, an Israeli official and a U.S. legislator
told the paper.
”As
talk of a U.S. strike on Iraq has mounted, Israel has pushed for
U.S. assistance in securing better early warning capability, as Iraq
is expected to retaliate against Israel, as in the 1991 Gulf War,”
reported the Post.
U.S.
Congressman Mark Kirk (R-Illinois) thanked Secretary of State Colin
Powell for providing the technological assistance. "In a
little-reported action, but I think vital to what's coming, thank
you for providing early-warning radar assistance to Israel,"
Kirk said. "The United States is moving to provide real-time
missile data to Israel."
“And
given what may or may not happen in the Middle East, avoiding 41
Scuds falling on Israel is an important goal of the United
States," he added.
On
the same day, the U.S. sharply criticized both Israel and the
Palestinians as Middle East violence surged, demanding each side to
immediately stop the escalation, reported Agence France-Presse
(AFP).
U.S.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said policies being
followed by both sides contributed to the deteriorating situation in
the region where 46 people were killed on Friday alone.
Meanwhile,
the U.K. Foreign Office Minister Baroness Amos admitted that it is
impossible to verify that the Israeli army is not using British
military equipment against the Palestinians in the occupied
territories, Iranian News Agency (IRNA) reported Friday.
"Many
U.K. defense exports in recent years have been components or pieces
of technology embedded in other systems and they not very
visible," Amos told members of the House of Lords on Thursday.
She
was explaining why the British Embassy in Tel Aviv does not
undertake physical checks on the actual use of weapons, ammunition
and military equipment supplied by U.K. firms since the start of the
Palestinian intifada two years ago.
The
diplomatic staff also "does not have the resources to do
so" she said in reply to a written question from cross-bench
peer, Lord Hylton.
In
response to previous accusations that the government was breaching
its own guidelines in continuing to supply arms to Israel, ministers
have insisted that the Israeli government has given an assurance
they are not being used against Palestinian civilians.
U.K.
Foreign Office Minister Ben Bradshaw also revealed last December
that the criteria for supplying arms to Israel had been tightened,
saying that the surest way in "preventing U.K. defense exports
being misused is to refuse an export license."
Britain
is reported to have sold over $ 17 million worth of military
equipment to Israel in the past year. Statistics also show that 86
licenses for goods on the U.K.'s military list were approved in the
first half of 2001, IRNA reported.
In
the latest reply, Amos did not give any assurance that there was no
evidence that the arms were being used against the Palestinians, but
said that Britain was relying on information supplied by many
sources.
"We
also take into account reliable information received about end-users
of concern from a variety of external sources, including
international reporting bodies and non-governmental
organizations," she said.
Peace
groups have little doubt that UK arms are being used against the
Palestinians, they include components for Apache and Huey
helicopters, Merkava tanks, armored personnel carriers and F16 jets,
which Israel has deployed in the occupied territories.
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