Israeli civilians will be invited to submit claims against Iraq for property damage caused by Scud missile attacks during the Persian Gulf War, an Israeli official confirmed here this week.
Robbie Sabel, legal adviser to the Foreign Ministry, said advertisements will appear in the Israeli press shortly advising citizens how to go about the process.
The Israeli government will establish an office in Jerusalem to handle the claims, Sabel told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. He predicted they will run into millions of dollars. The largest share will go to people whose homes were demolished by the Iraqi missiles.
But he said the negotiations would last “many months” and that it would be “a long time until the compensation money reaches the Israeli banks.”
Sabel came to Geneva to attend the opening meeting last week of the U.N. special commission established to deal with multinational claims against Iraq.
Each country will be asked to submit consolidated claims on behalf of its citizens, in addition to the claims of the governments themselves, he explained.
Governments, for example, could claim compensation for work days lost by their departments and agencies because of the war.
Israel is only one of many countries eligible for compensation from Iraq. Its claims, while substantial, pale compared to those of Kuwait, the country invaded and occupied by Iraq, which are expected to amount to $15 billion.
Other countries expected to submit claims include Egypt, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the Philippines.
A separate commission will deal with claims of Palestinians, by far the largest group of foreign workers forced out of Kuwait. No state is willing to represent them.
The Iraqis will pay compensation out of the revenues accruing from the supervised sale of its oil. A limited sale of Iraqi oil was authorized last week by the U.N. Security Council.
About 70 percent of the profits will be returned to Iraq for humanitarian uses. The balance will be placed in a U.N.-administered trust fund, from which the various claims will be paid.
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