General urges Israelis to be prepared for Iraq conflict
The Jerusalem Post

10 March 2003

Maj.-Gen. Amos Gilad, Israel's designated spokesman in the event of a war on Iraq, recommended today that the public be prepared to use gas masks or seal up a room at short notice.

Gilad said that while the risk of an attack by Iraq is not as great as in the past, there is a risk of facing an isolated incident, for which the public must be prepared.

"There is a small risk that must be taken into account with regard to the possiblity of isolated serious incidents," Gilad told Israel Radio.

Gilad said that the possibility that Saddam Hussein would lash out at Israel as an act of desperation cannot be ruled out.

He repeated the assessments of intelligence officers who expect the war will indeed erupt sometime this month.

The IDF intelligence chief, Maj.-Gen. Aharon Ze'evi (Farkash) predicted on Sunday that the US would launch a strike on Iraq by next week.