Israel Sees Poison Gas Threat by Arabs : Arens Cites Iraq, Syria, Libya, Says His Nation Will Defend Itself

Israel told an international conference Monday that Arab countries with chemical weapons present an “immediate threat” in the Middle East and that Israel is taking measures to defend itself.

Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Arens, addressing a 145-nation conference on chemical warfare, said the threat is posed by Iraq, Syria and Libya.

Arens was followed to the speaker’s stand by South African Foreign Minister Roelof F. (Pik) Botha, whose appearance provoked a walkout by delegates from countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Arab world.

Arens said that Egypt, Syria and Iraq all have chemical weapons and that they constitute a “direct, immediate threat to our country.”

“Facing that kind of threat, of course, Israel has taken serious steps to be able to respond,” he said.

He did not spell out the nature of any response Israel might make, but he said that Israel has “undertaken a large-scale buildup of our civil defense organization.”

According to Western intelligence sources, Israel too probably has an arsenal of chemical weapons as well as nuclear weapons.

Arens said Libya has built “one of the largest chemical weapons plants in the world” and that Libya, Iraq and Syria have been “notorious for their support of terrorist groups throughout the world.”

Libyan Foreign Secretary Jaddallah Talhi, speaking later in the day, dismissed as unfounded U.S. charges that his country is building a chemical warfare plant. He accused the United States of hypocrisy.

“How can any member of the international community proclaim a right it denies others, while at the same time launching a vile campaign of calumny on the basis of a discriminatory, racist position?” Talhi asked.

He was referring to Washington’s charges, echoed by Arens in his speech, that a plant 40 miles southwest of Tripoli is being built to produce chemical weapons. The Libyans insist that it is for making pharmaceuticals.

Earlier Monday, Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard A. Shevardnadze told reporters that evidence presented to him by Secretary of State George P. Shultz on Sunday about the alleged chemical weapons plant at Rabta did not prove anything.

“The secretary of state showed me the construction plans, but that proves nothing,” Shevardnadze told reporters as he left the conference to return to Moscow.

“I told him that this was a serious accusation and that it has to be proven. I also said that the most important thing is to stabilize the situation after the incident with the airplanes,” Shevardnadze said, referring to the U.S. downing of two Libyan MIG-23 jet fighters off the Libyan coast Wednesday.

In his speech, Talhi repeated Libya’s charge that the aerial incident was an act of “premeditated military aggression” and called on the world community to prevent any further U.S. attack.

He said Israel should submit to an inspection of its nuclear facilities and sign the nuclear non-proliferation agreement, and he accused Israel of building up an arsenal of nuclear, chemical and bacteriological weapons.

Only the United States and the Soviet Union admit to manufacturing and possessing stocks of chemical weapons, but intelligence sources believe that as many as 20 nations have the capability to produce poison gas.

South Africa is one of the nations that intelligence sources believe has chemical as well as nuclear weapons. When Foreign Minister Botha rose to speak, most of the African and nonaligned delegates walked out, representing almost three-quarters of those in the hall. They returned after Botha completed his remarks.