Hamas’s posts ‘poison tips’ on Web site, leaves Israel jittery

The Israeli Army accused Hamas of using the Internet to plot attacks after pointing out on Friday a ‘‘Poisons Handbook’’...

The Israeli Army accused Hamas of using the Internet to plot attacks after pointing out on Friday a ‘‘Poisons Handbook’’ posted on the Islamic militant group’s Web site.

Hamas denied any such intention. It said the manual appeared in its online chat room unsolicited, sent by a contributor known only as the Red Baron. The report fuelled Israeli fears that Palestinian militants might to turn to non-conventional weapons in a 27-month-old uprising for statehood. The eight-chapter ‘‘Mujahideen Poisons Handbook’’ gives detailed English instructions and diagrams for mass-producing what are described as deadly chemical gases and liquids.

Israeli Defence Minister barred from running for elections

JERUSALEM: Israel’s Central Elections Committee on Friday upheld a decision to bar Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz from running in the January 28 legislative polls on technical grounds. It ruled that the legal six-month ‘‘cooling off’’ period before a senior military officer can be officially discharged had not yet expired for Mofaz, who served as Chief of Staff until last August.
Mofaz was already barred from running by Israel’s national elections committee last week, a decision which the Central Committee ratified by a vote of 20 against 18. (Reuters)

The Israeli Army, which reported the manual on its own Website, linked its content to Palestinian militant violence. Hamas has spearheaded dozens of suicide bombings against Israelis. One recipe is for a poison purportedly based on nicotine derived from tobacco boiled down in industrial alcohol. ‘‘Ten cigarettes should be enough to kill three men, therefore three is enough to kill one man,’’ the manual said.

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The efficacy of the recipes could not be checked, nor could the identity of the manual’s author, signed as Abdel-Aziz. It is dated February 7, 1996. Hamas official Ismail Haniyah said the group bore no responsibility for what contributors said on its Web site.

An Israeli security source said Israeli authorities feared Iraq could use Palestinian operatives to spread chemical agents in Israel should the US go to war against Baghdad. Israeli police believes small experiments may already be under way. (Reuters)

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