Bush Sends Top Envoy Eagleburger to Assure Israel of Support : Diplomacy: The deputy secretary of state’s mission is to plead for continued restraint by Jerusalem.

Intensifying a diplomatic effort to keep Israel out of the Persian Gulf War, President Bush has sent Deputy Secretary of State Lawrence S. Eagleburger to Jerusalem to provide new assurances of U.S. support for Israeli security, it was announced Sunday.

A senior State Department official said the purpose of the trip is a straightforward attempt to reassure Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir’s government that it can count on continued U.S. support and to plead for continued Israeli restraint in the gulf conflict.

“There is no hidden agenda,” the official said. “This is another way of showing our commitment to their security.”

By the time the State Department issued a two-sentence announcement of Eagleburger’s trip, the veteran diplomatic trouble-shooter had already held his first meetings with government officials in Jerusalem.

It was Eagleburger’s second visit there in nine days. His earlier trip was the first by such a high-ranking U.S. official since Bush took office two years ago.

Although Shamir and other senior Israeli officials have met with Bush, Secretary of State James A. Baker III and other top Administration officials in Washington, the President had avoided sending top officials to Israel, to demonstrate U.S. displeasure with what was seen as Israeli foot-dragging on peace negotiations with the Palestinian residents of the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

But the outbreak of the Gulf War obliterated the earlier friction between the United States and Israel. The Administration is determined to keep Israel out of the conflict to avoid splitting the international coalition that is waging the war against Iraq.

“The fundamentals of the relationship have emerged again,” the senior U.S. official said. “You can have problems on the margins, and you can have disagreements. But when things matter, the core of the relationship is solid.”

In a clear attempt to drive a wedge between Washington and its Arab allies by drawing Israel into the conflict, Iraq fired 11 Scud missiles at Israel late last week. No one was killed, although 28 people were injured.

Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Syria--the primary Arab members of the coalition--have indicated that they would find it awkward to fight alongside Israel against Arab Iraq. However, U.S. officials said that the Arab allies probably would tolerate an Israeli response to an unprovoked Iraqi attack.

Nevertheless, U.S. policy-makers would prefer to keep Israel on the sidelines if possible.

Breaking with its traditional eye-for-an-eye policy, Israel has not retaliated, although Shamir and his aides continue to insist that they have a right to do so.

On Saturday, the Administration sent Patriot antimissile-missile batteries, operated by American troops, to Israel. There have been no Scud attacks on Israel since the Patriots--which have successfully shot down Scuds in Saudi Arabia--were deployed. On Sunday there were reports that the U.S. aircraft carrier Forrestal would be sent to the eastern Mediterranean to bolster Israeli defenses. The report has not been confirmed by the Pentagon.

In Jerusalem, Israeli defense officials said the U.S. servicemen who accompanied the Patriots will remain in Israel until Israeli technicians are trained to operate the missiles. The armed forces chief, Lt. Gen. Dan Shomron, has estimated that might take about two weeks.

The Americans, whose total number is classified, are the first combat support troops ever sent to help defend Israel.

The Patriots, which arrived in Israel aboard massive C-5A Galaxy transports, consist of two batteries, each with eight launchers holding four missiles apiece--a total of 64 warheads.

The precise spots where they are set up is secret, but they presumably are deployed where they can defend the major population centers, particularly Tel Aviv and Haifa, two cities that were hit in the Scud attacks. Although Israel undoubtedly considers Jerusalem its most valuable city, it is not considered a likely target for missile attack, since it contains one of the holiest sites in Islam.

Although the arrival of the Patriots rated front-page treatment in Israel, some senior Israelis privately expressed concern that ordinary citizens might get the idea that the U.S. military had to come to Israel’s rescue.

“Personally,” said a senior staff officer, “I don’t think American soldiers should be involved in the defense of Israel.

“If Israel--with the most powerful air force and air defenses in the Middle East--needs to call in Americans, this suggests certain ramifications for the people: Are we really able to defend ourselves?”

Iraq’s Scud attacks on Israel were far more important politically than militarily. The notoriously inaccurate rocket carries a relatively small payload, making it ineffective against military targets. However, when fired at population centers, the missile can cause casualties among civilians. Iraqi forces fired Scuds at Dhahran and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia on Sunday and early today, but most were believed to have been shot down by Patriots.

U.S. officials say it is clear that Iraq’s sole purpose in firing the rockets at Tel Aviv and Haifa was to goad Israel into joining the war.

Although Israel’s military is by far the most potent in the Middle East, an Israeli air strike against Iraq--the most likely form of retaliation--could go almost unnoticed in the 2,000-sorties-a-day pace of the allied bombing.

However, if Shamir does not retaliate, he can expect criticism from hawkish members of his own Likud Party, who believe that the Jerusalem government should never let an attack go unpunished.

U.S. officials hope that Eagleburger can persuade Israel that it is better off this time in continuing to show restraint. In effect, Eagleburger can argue that U.S. gratitude, after two years of official coolness, would enhance Israel’s long-term security far more than a retaliatory raid against Iraq. Moreover, Israel’s interests are arguably better served by avoiding a clear trap intended to fracture the alliance against Iraq.

In a related development, Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jacques Poos, the current president of the European Community, praised Israel’s restraint in the face of what he called “a deliberate and pre-planned provocation.”

In recent years, Israel has complained repeatedly that the EC is biased in favor of the Arab states in the long-running Arab-Israeli conflict. By choosing not to retaliate, Shamir could also enhance his standing in Europe.

Israel appeared to be back to a semblance of normality Sunday, after coming under two barrages of Scuds late last week. At least 11 missiles hit, injuring 28 people, none of them seriously.

While schools were still closed Sunday, businesses were open in the south of Israel--out of range of Iraqi missiles. The state of emergency was lowered a notch in most of the country, officials said.

At the same time, some senior Israel officials sought to discount reports that in return for the Patriots, Jerusalem has promised Washington that it will not retaliate against the Iraqi strikes.

Echoing predictions by some other officials, Defense Minister Moshe Arens indicated Sunday that Israel would retaliate against Iraq, but he also said his country would “take American interests into consideration.”

“There was no such deal in bringing the Patriots to Israel,” said Danny Naveh, an aide to Arens. “It was in the framework of American willingness to aid Israel’s air defenses. This is not tied to any Israeli obligation.”

Yossi Ben-Aharon, chief aide to Prime Minister Shamir, declared: “We feel the obligation as a matter of principle to go right in there and do the job.”

But he added: “We cannot do it in a vacuum. It has to be done in coordination with all the powers that are involved there.”

And Health Minister Ehud Olmert, a confidant of Shamir, added: “This right (of retaliation) will be maintained by us and will be applied at the right place, at the right time, so that the other side will be totally surprised and unable to defend itself. I hope that it will be done.”

Kempster reported from Washington and Tuohy from Jerusalem.