[Chemical & Biological Warfare: Introduction]

Hamas first added pesticides and poisonous chemicals to indigenously produced bombs in 1997. Certain Palestinian terrorist elements have also attempted to contaminate Israeli water sources and agricultural exports with chemical and biological agents.

In 1999, Israeli security forces apprehended a Hamas terrorist ring active in the recruitment of Palestinian biology and chemistry students as part of an attempt to form a non-conventional weapons effort against Israel.

During Operation Defensive Shield (April 2002), the IDF seized 10 tubes of bromine in the Ramallah Mukatah compound. Bromine, a brownish-red liquid, is a corrosive element that dissolves human tissue -- even at a concentration of one per million.

Bromine: Archive Photo

In July 2004, Shin Bet Chief Avi Dichter noted that non-conventional weapons may have been smuggled into the PA. In December 2004, the Israeli defense establishment expressed concern over the possibility of a chemical or biological attack by various Palestinian terrorist groups.

Indeed, various indictments against Palestinian terrorists have revealed that both Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) attempted to use cyanide for terrorist attacks against Israelis on several occasions. Abbas Sayyid, who headed the Hamas military wing in Tulkarem, intended to use cyanide in an attack against the Sharon shopping mall (May 2001) and Park Hotel (March 2002) in Netanya. PIJ terrorist Anas Hatnawi (Jenin), planned to use cyanide in suicide attacks against Israelis.

In March 2007, the IDF Homefront Command held an extensive, nationwide civil defense drill that included a simulated chemical mega-terrorist attack against a Ramat Gan school. Special Forces, utilizing sophisticated decontamination equipment, rushed to the scene and carried out mass casualty emergency evacuation to hospitals. The drill was performed under realistic combat conditions. 1

[Use of Chemical & Biological Agents in Suicide Bombings]

In December 2001, the Israeli Health Ministry revealed that nails and bolts found in a bomb detonated by a Palestinian suicide bomber had been dipped in rat poison. According to Hamas, planting poisonous chemicals in explosive devices have terrorized Israelis more effectively than conventional bombings. In January 2002, a senior Israeli security source warned that Hamas may be attempting to obtain sarin and other nerve gases. 2

In February 2002, Middle East Newsline reported that Palestinian terrorist elements were developing a chemical warhead for the Qassam-class missile. In December 2005, media reports indicated that Palestinian terrorists were preparing Qassam missiles with chemical warheads.

In June 2006, Fatah announced the development of chemical and biological weapons and claimed to possess 20 biological warheads for Qassam rockets.

"With the help of Allah, we are pleased to say that we succeeded in developing over 20 different types of biological and chemical weapons, this after a three-year effort...We say to (Prime Minister Ehud) Olmert and (Defense Minister Amir) Peretz: Your threats of invasion do not frighten us. We will surprise you with new weapons you have not faced until now. As soon as an IDF soldier sets foot on Gazan land, we will respond with a new weapon."

The organization noted it would not hesitate to use the substances, adding they could be placed on rockets similar to those fired at Israeli communities surrounding Gaza.

"If Israel invades Gaza, we will declare open warfare without limits..."

Fatah also claimed to have fired one rocket with a checmical warhead at southern Israel. However, the IDF did not detect the launch of such a rocket. 3

The IDF Ramla Biological Simulation Center, slated to begin operations in April 2008, will simulate a number of biological warfare scenarios, including an attack on a mall, movie theater and parking garage.

The facility, funded by the Ministry of Defense, will be utilized by the Homefront Command for training purposes.

Chief of the Nuclear Biological and Chemical Branch of the IDF Medical Corps, Colonel Tzvika Doshnitzky: "Biological warfare is the most dangerous of weaponry as the fallout does not occur immediately, rather the symptoms only appear later..." 4

In April 2007, Globes reported that NATO was slated to fund an interdisciplinary research project by the Technion (Israel Institute of Technology) on protecting water supplies against biological and chemical terrorism.

The research will integrate mathematical models for the positioning of monitoring stations and technological innovations for identifying and neutralizing chemical and biological contaminants. The project, due to be completed by the end of 2008, has a budget of €300,000.

Prof. Israel Schechter of the Faculty of Chemistry: "After Al Qaeda documents and plans were discovered in Afghanistan, the FBI warned that the organization was planning to attack water sources. It turns out that water dispersal systems in the US, Israel, and other developed countries in the world are completely exposed. They are outdoors, with no guards. The systems are large and numerous, and guards cannot be placed at all of them. An expert panel examined the issue and gave its recommendations to Congress, which allocated $608 million to solve the problem...

"A huge quantity of poison is needed to poison the water supply...I tried to think like a terrorist and discovered a way to place a handful of a certain poison into water sources that could kill large numbers of people, despite the dilution factor. That’s why I started to develop a device that can detect chemical poisons in water and neutralize them."

Prof. Yechezkel Kashi of the Faculty of Biotechnology Food Engineering: "We’ve basically established an ID card for specific bacteria. We’re now developing a scanner that will be able to quickly and accurately detect specific bacteria. We’re collaborating with Prof. David Walt of Tufts University on this project." 5

1. "Israel Fears Chemical Attack by Hamas Suicide Bombers," The Times of London, January 2, 2002; "Dr. Danny Shoham - BESA Center Expert on Chemical and Biological Weapons Takes Center Stage," BESA Bulletin, no. 14, May 2002; "Shin Bet Chief Concerned Over Non-Conventional Warfare Reaching the PA," IsraelNationalNews," July 21, 2004; Eitan Rabin, "Classified Report Obtained by NRG Maariv Reveals Defense Officials Also Concerned Palestinian Terror Groups Might Try to Perpetrate WMD Attacks," NRG Ma'ariv (English edition), December 8, 2004; IDF Finds 12 Liters of Poisonous Bromine Hidden in Arafat's Ramallah Compound," IMRA, April 19, 2002; Gal Luft, "From Clandestine Army to Guardians of Terror: The Palestinian Security Forces and the Second Intifada," Nativ (Online), Vol. 4, June 2004; David Eshel, "Chlorine Gas Attacks: Paradigm in Unconventional Terror," Defense Update, March 22, 2007.



2. "Israel fears Chemical Attack by Hamas Suicide Bombers," The Times of London, January 2, 2002; "Hamas Says [it put] Chemicals in Bombs," Associated Press, December 12, 2001.



3. "Hamas Claims Kassam will be Tipped with CW," MENL, Feb. 28, 2002; DebkaFile, December 8, 2005; Roee Nahmias, "Al-Aqsa Brigades: Chemical Warfare if Israel Invades Gaza," YnetNews, June 25, 2006; "Gaza Militants Say Fired Chemical-Tipped Warhead," Reuters, June 29, 2006..


4. Elad Shalev, "Biological Simulation Center to Be Established in Ramla," IDF Spokesperson's Office, February 19, 2007.
   
   
   
5. Amnon Barzilai, "NATO to Finance Technion Water Terrorism Research," Globes, April 19, 2007.
   
   
   
   

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