Chemical Weapons:
In October 1997, the Israeli secret service, Mossad, attempted to assassinate the Hamas political leader, Khaled Meshal, using poison gas.  The assassination attempt failed; the Mossad agents were arrested in Jordan; and King Hussein forced the Israeli government to provide treatment to the victim (the antidote to the poison was known only to the Israeli weapons experts who had designed the gas).  Though the Israeli government has not been linked to illegal weapons transfer, in 1997 an Israeli businessman was charged with selling CW components, including mustard and nerve gas agents, to Iran.

Biological Weapons:
Little is known about the size or scope of Israel's BW program. Suspicions regarding Israeli BW capabilities have centered around the National Institute for Biological Research in Ness Ziona.  An intelligence expert at the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported to The Guardian that "only about 10 or 15 percent of what it [Ness Ziona] does is related to the biological and chemical warfare."  The Israeli government has evinced an interest in developing antidotes to biological agents in recent years, but the government has not admitted to pursuing an offensive BW capability.  However, the Middle East Military Balance published by Tel Aviv University's Jaffee Centre maintains that "although Israel has the capability to produce [biological agents] at will, it has not stockpiled operational weapons.  The capacity is attributed to the Biological Research Institute."  The Military Balance report, which was based on U.S. intelligence sources, indicates that Israel has in fact pursued offensive BW research, if not BW production.

Last updated on November 16, 2000
For more information on Israel's CBW capability, email Chris Hellman, research analyst.