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Israel Worries Over 'Megaterror'

Aired August 08, 2002 - 14:39   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Israeli leaders are worried the sporadic suicide bombings could be relative pinpricks leading up to terrorisms on a much larger scale.
CNN senior international correspondent Walter Rodgers has more on preparations for a megaattack.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALTER RODGERS, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Among Israelis, large cities like Tel Aviv are increasingly being seen as target-rich environments for Palestinian militants. The new Israeli watchword is megaterror. Islamist militants from Hamas, perhaps using an airplane to replicate what al Qaeda did in America September 11 a year ago.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Its only a matter of time. They are looking for it, to do such a thing.

RODGERS: Ninety-two percent of all Israelis, according to one poll, now fear they or a member of their family may fall victim to a megaterror incident. Take an incident like last Sunday's bus bombing and multiply it by 10, 10 suicide bombers belted with explosives attacking on the same day. It is rapidly becoming the latest nightmare scenario, according to Israeli officials, where hundreds are killed in a megaterror attack by Palestinian militants.

Megaterror is why the Israelis say they killed a Hamas military commander in Gaza at the cost of 14 Palestinian civilians being killed in that same bombing.

RA'ANAN GISSIM, SHARON SPOKESMAN: Saleh Shehade, before he was taken out, was planning six major megaterrorist attacks, ones that involved hundreds of pounds of explosives placed in locations where it would take the lives of hundreds of Israelis.

RODGERS: Prime Minister Aerial Sharon convened his security chiefs this week to discuss preparations for megaterrorist attacks. Israel dodged a bullet only Wednesday when a plan to blow up this tanker truck in a fuel storage farm depot was foiled.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Had they succeeded, the result could have been similar in impact to a small nuclear device.

RODGERS: Those charged with cleaning up after bombings here now wear chemical and biological warfare suits, just in case suicide bombers carry more than explosives. Israeli sources say militants like Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Tanzim, encouraged by Iraq and Iran, are now vying to see who can set off the biggest blast here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do think twice before I go out and stuff like that. I feel scared.

RODGERS (on camera): It is also feared terrorists might strike at symbols of Israeli sovereignty, like the Knesset, the parliament. The question of how Israel would respond to such a megaterrorist attack is hotly debated here, but one government source said the minimum Israeli response would be the eviction of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Walter Rodgers, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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