Jordan Army on Maneuvers Close to Israel : Mideast: Jerusalem puts some forces on alert. The exercises are apparently designed to demonstrate the kingdom’s readiness.

The Jordanian army has been holding unprecedented large-scale military maneuvers along the mountain ridge overlooking the Jordan Valley, Israeli government sources reported Thursday.

The exercises, involving most of the Jordanian army, are apparently designed to demonstrate the kingdom’s military readiness as the Persian Gulf crisis moves toward a “flash point,” according to a senior Israeli official.

In response, Israel has maintained a full alert among specialized forces that would be in the forefront of any Israeli reprisal in case of attack by Iraq or Jordan, the official added. The Israeli military, however, has not called up any reserves, the official said.

In Amman, the Jordanian government would say only that its forces are on the alert, but it insisted that the military moves are not a preparation for attack but a defense exercise to prepare for a hypothetical strike by Israel.

The Israeli public has become unsettled in recent days by threats from Iraqi President Saddam Hussein that he will draw Israel into any conflict resulting from a U.S.-led military assault to drive the Iraqis out of occupied Kuwait.

The air force, anti-missile artillery and other front-line units have been on a constant level of readiness. But reports that the Israeli armed forces are on a full-scale alert are overdrawn, sources said.

The Jordanian army has been conducting the major exercises for the last several days, the Israeli government source said, and in response Jerusalem has taken undisclosed steps to show Amman that Israel is well aware of the troop movements.

In past weeks, the government of Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir has warned Jordan’s King Hussein that any attempt on his part to aid Iraq against Israel in any conflict would be met by fierce retribution.

According to an official, the pressures are mounting on Israel because Iraq’s President Hussein is “raising the stakes” with the approach of Jan. 15, the United Nations-imposed deadline for Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait or face the use of force.

The size of Israel’s response to an Iraqi attack would not necessarily be massive, depending on the nature of the provocation, Israeli officials indicated Thursday.

“If Iraq launches a conventional armed missile that explodes in an empty field, we won’t necessarily respond in the same way we would if a chemical weapon landed in one of our cities, killing a lot of people,” a senior source said.

Israel’s arsenal is believed to include everything from nuclear weapons, deliverable by both missile and aircraft, to the more conventional range of air and ground weaponry.

The United States is taking seriously the Iraqi leader’s threat to draw Israel into any war, reasoning that by doing so he might seek to reduce Washington’s support among such traditional foes of Israel as Syria, which has contributed troops to the U.S.-led multinational force in Saudi Arabia.

Israeli officials admit there is now a lack of coordination between Jerusalem and Washington, which has led to some confusion over just where the two allies stand on a response to any aggression by Iraq.

“Everyone is getting edgy as we approach the big day (Jan. 15),” a senior official said. “The lack of coordination with Washington is causing some problems.

“We don’t think war will necessarily break out on Jan. 16. But there is the growing feeling here that the date marks some kind of an irreversible watershed toward war.”

Israeli sources Thursday heatedly denied a report by the syndicated American columnists Rowland Evans and Robert Novak that Jerusalem has agreed to clear with Washington any response the Israeli military might make in the event of an Iraqi attack.

“Our policy is basic,” said an official. “If Iraq attacks Israel, we will react. Iraq will be punished. We will decide the degree of our reaction.”