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Tel Aviv plans evacuation of companies and factories

Saddam Hussein’s plans to launch missiles towards Israel in the case of a second Gulf war are no secret. During the first Gulf War around forty SCUD missiles were launched at Israel. Despite their inaccuracy [hence ineffectiveness] the missiles stirred up panic amongst the public, as well as a general criticism towards the Israeli prime minister at the time, Yitzhak Shamir, who assumed a policy of restraint and didn’t retaliate.

The current estimation is that, similar to the first war, Saddam will yet again aim his missiles towards the center of Israel. The reason for this being that other areas are not an option – Iraq will not attack Jerusalem on account of its sanctity, the Negev desert in the south is not within the missile range and the north of Israel has no strategic targets worth aiming for. Therefore, the only valuable target is the center of the country, including Tel Aviv which accommodates Israel’s most strategic targets.

The Israeli daily newspaper “Ma’ariv” published an article on Wednesday, in the financial section, stating that large companies are making preparations for the oncoming war in Iraq and are already organizing alternative offices outside of Tel Aviv.

Thus, the large conglomerate Koor Industries has an alternative place to operate outside Tel Aviv and the company’s president stated “we have prepared an optional site to work from, in case of any problem that may come up. Hopefully, we won’t have to use it.” Koor Industries is a leading investment holding company, focusing on high growth, internationally-oriented, Israeli companies. It employs over 20,000 employees.

Two out of the five leading banks in Israel – “Leumi” and “Po’alim” – have also prepared optional sites to operate from, remote from the center of Israel. Some industrial factories and exporters have transferred their computer systems to backup sites; others have alternative plans to transport cargo through intermediate destinations in Europe in case the flights to and from Israel are brought to a halt.

Strategic military sites are well guarded in case of missile attacks. Thus the emergency operations headquarters, situated in the heart of Tel Aviv, are well underground, as are the “Mossad” headquarters.

The question now is – does Iraq have the ability to launch missiles that will reach Israel? Foreign sources have confirmed that special military units from the U.S., Britain and perhaps even from Israel, have been operating for a few months in western Iraq to locate these missile launchers and prevent them from being activated. The missile range supposedly does not exceed the distance between western Iraq and Israel, which is why this preliminary action was carried out.

Yet, as stated, the leading Israeli companies are not taking any chances, and are preparing for the worst.