4um: Israel denies working on biological weapon to target Arabs

Title: Israel denies working on biological weapon to target Arabs
Source: AP
URL Source: [None]
Published: Nov 15, 1998
Author: AP
Post Date: 2008-05-28 21:51:49 by Jethro Tull
Keywords: None
Views: 501
Comments: 14

Israel denies working on biological weapon to target Arabs

AP Online
11-15-1998
JERUSALEM (AP) _ Israel denied Sunday that it is trying to identify genes unique to Arabs in order to target them with a biological weapon that would leave Jews unharmed.

London's Sunday Times had reported that Israeli scientists were trying to create a genetically modified bacterium or virus that only attacks people who carry specific genes.

David Bar-Illan, a senior aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, rejected the report, saying such stories only proved ``that there is no limit to human gullibility and also no limit to the desire to sell newspapers.''

Asked if he was denying the report, Bar-Illan told The Associated Press, ``this is the kind of story that does not deserve denial.''

The report, attributed to unidentified Israeli military and Western intelligence sources, said the weapon is seen as Israel's response to the threat of chemical and biological warfare from Iraq and could be spread by air or through the water supply.

The newspaper said the program is based at the biological institute in Nes Tziyona, which it described as the main research facility for Israel's chemical and biological weapons. According to the report, researchers have pinpointed ``a characteristic in the genetic profile of certain Arab communities, particularly the Iraqi people.''

Officials at Porton Down, Britain's biological defense facility, told the newspaper such weapons were theoretically possible.

Asked if he was denying the report, Bar-Illan told The Associated Press, ``this is the kind of story that does not deserve denial.''

Because they are non-answers. To say yes or no can be proven to be a lie by current video technology methinks.

These dogs are trained in the art of double speak. They answer questions in such a way that clear interpretation is impossible. They'd all fail a polygraph.

The horrifying tale of Dr Wouter Basson's campaign trail of death has been unfolding in the Pretoria High Court since 4 October 1999 when his trial began. He faces 46 charges ranging from murder to fraud and drug dealing arising from his role as head of the chemical and biological warfare programme of the apartheid South African government. One of his former colleagues has said Basson "killed the blacks big time", but the army doctor has denied everything in court without calling as much as a single witness in his defence. In contrast, the prosecution called nearly 200 witnesses over two years. Basson finished his sole-witness testimony on 26 September, spending two months in the dock. We have an 18-page "special report" here on the trial. Please have a seat as this could knock you off your feet. It's truly mind boggling. Overview by Osei Boateng.