Israelis told: seal rooms in case of chemical attack

Israelis preparing to combat a chemical or biological attack with plastic sheeting and duct tape yesterday, as the country made its final preparations for the American-led attack on Iraq.

The Home Front Command recommended all householders to prepare a sealed room in which to take refuge if Saddam Hussein fires non-conventional missiles at Israel.

The first line of defence is Israel's new Arrow missile system, which is supposed to be able to detect and destroy incoming Scuds. All Israeli citizens have been issued with gas masks and instructed to keep bottled water and tinned food in their sealed rooms, along with a radio to receive instructions. But there has been controversy over the government's refusal to supply Palestinians in the occupied territories with gas masks.

Palestinians were panic-buying essential supplies of food yesterday, fearing not so much a chemical attack from Baghdad as a fresh onslaught in the occupied territories by the Israeli army when the world's attention is diverted.

In the 1991 Gulf War, Iraq fired 35 Scuds at Israel, but all carried conventional warheads.