Jerusalem, Sept 04: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has told his emergency and security forces to be ready or a US strike on Iraq by November, amid fears that it could lead to Iraqi attacks on Israel, the Daily Haaretz said today. The daily said Washington had not given the Jewish state a date or even confirmed if it will attack, saying that November 1 was chosen as a "reasonable" deadline for the country to prepare for.

Raanan Gissin, a spokesman for the prime minister, refused to comment directly on the report, only saying that Sharon "has said publicly several times that Israel is well prepared for any contingency ... If and when there is a response by Iraq."
Israel fears that Iraqi president Saddam Hussein could hit Israel with non-conventional weapons if the US attacks Baghdad, as several senior hawkish us officials have indicated Washington has plans to do. Bureau Report