TEL AVIV, 13 March 2003 — The news that gas mask kits being sold to Israel’s immigrant workers were out of date spread like wildfire through the rundown neighborhood of Tel Aviv’s old central bus station as Chinese, Thai and Filipino workers rang their friends to warn them.
Media reports late Tuesday said the army had sold tens of thousands of expired gas masks and anti-nerve gas injections to foreign workers ahead of a possible Iraqi missile attack on the country, while distributing newer ones free of charge to Israelis.
By yesterday morning, many of the foreign workers living in the seedy Neve Shaanan district, which is home to thousands of impoverished immigrant workers — both legal and illegal — had heard the news, largely by word-of-mouth or through friends ringing them up.
“It’s really disgusting — my friends rang me last night to tell me about it,” said one Filipino worker who did not give his name. “People were really angry when they heard.”
According to the reports, the 33,000 gas masks sold to foreign workers were produced over 20 years ago, in 1982, and the atropine injections, an anti-nerve gas treatment, were manufactured in 1995.
By contrast, the masks handed out to Israeli citizens were all produced after 1984, while the atropine syringes date from 1996 and after, the daily Haaretz said, adding that Israelis were advised to change any kits older than that. To obtain the mask, foreign workers, of whom there are an estimated 300,000 both legal and illegal in Israel, have to pay 200 shekels ($40), half of which will be refunded when they return the mask after the expected US-led war on Iraq.
“It’s really bad — why are they selling old masks to foreign workers? You have to pay 200 shekels, which is not cheap and foreign workers earn hardly anything!” said a Singaporean shop assistant who gave her name as Michelle.
Meanwhile, Israel and the United States have adopted a wait-and-see attitude to the new position of Palestinian prime minister. Before signing into law in the coming days a power-sharing prime ministerial post overwhelmingly backed by his Parliament, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has referred it to a legal panel, officials said.
The move is a key reform of his much-criticized administration, but it was unclear whether the candidate, senior PLO moderate Mahmoud Abbas, would accept.
Abbas has said he will only take the post if it has sufficient powers to push through more reforms. Israel and the United States have given a cool response to the new post, saying it was not clear it the prime minister would have sufficient clout to divest Arafat of his sweeping executive powers. Both countries want Arafat dropped as an obstacle to peace.
