Israelis Cheer as U.S. Envoy Tours Wreckage

Washington’s top emissary in Israel today toured the wreckage left by Iraqi warheads and was cheered by Israelis for the U.S. missiles deployed here to ward off attacks.

About 100 people in the low-income neighborhood mobbed Deputy Secretary of State Lawrence S. Eagleburger, shouted “Good for you!” and sang, “The people of Israel live.”

Defense Ministry spokesman Danny Naveh said the two batteries airlifted with their U.S. crews on Saturday will be joined soon by two more Patriot systems that had been on order and have been partially delivered to Israel.

“Within a few short days the four batteries will be operating,” Naveh said on Israel radio.

Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir told reporters Israel was not asked to pay a political price for the Patriots.

“There is no deal. We are working together. We are thinking together how to do better,” Shamir said. “I am always optimistic. I think with the Patriots now in Israel, we have more reason to be optimistic.”

At a later news conference under the badly damaged ceiling of a community hall, Shamir addressed the issue of Israeli retaliation against Iraq--a move Washington wants to discourage.

“We haven’t made a commitment to anyone about how we will act,” he said. “Israel is an independent country. It will act according to its decisions and its will.”

But he acknowledged that retaliation would require coordination with the United States.

The Patriots, which shot down Iraqi Scud missiles aimed at Saudi Arabia on Friday and on Sunday night, have given a boost to Israel’s confidence.

Lily Menashe, one of the women who turned up to applaud Eagleburger, said the Patriots made her feel “terrific.”

“I can’t put it in words, our feelings for the Americans. It’s really something,” she said.

Eagleburger chatted with residents of the areas where missiles had blasted the front walls off houses and destroyed cars. The missiles have injured about 30 people, according to military officials.

Eagleburger was accompanied by Mayor Shlomo Lahat, who like most Israelis carried a gas mask in case of a chemical weapons attack. Eagleburger and U.S. diplomats kept masks in their limousine.

Military authorities forbade identification of the areas Eagleburger visited, believing the information could help the Iraqis improve the aim of their missiles.

The military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Dan Shomron, said Iraq’s missile capability is being eroded by the bombing of the U.S.-led alliance fighting to drive Iraq from Kuwait.

He told Israel television that the danger to Israel remains but that Israel should start returning to normal. The army allowed workers to go back to their jobs except in coastal areas hit in weekend missile barrages.

“A nation cannot sit closed up in its houses all the time. It has to go to work,” he said. “We must learn to live with this threat for some time.”

The army said schools would remain closed nationwide and that shops and businesses should reopen except in the Tel Aviv and Haifa areas, which were hit by missiles Friday and Saturday.

Israelis have been advised since Friday to stay indoors with gas masks handy.

Most Israelis awoke today after a second night free of missiles and alarms. But residents of northern Israel went into shelters when a technical mishap set sirens wailing. Another false alarm was sounded in towns just north of Tel Aviv.