United Nations weapons inspectors continued their painstaking hunt for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction over the festive period. A number of sites in central and southern Iraq were visited on Christmas Day. Munitions factories, gas plants, and a paper plant in the city of Basra were on the inspectors christmas menu. The wider implications of a war against Iraq emerged after Syria brushed aside Israeli accusations that it is harbouring Iraqi weapons. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, accused its Arab neighbour of accepting weapons from Baghdad to avoid detection. In a christmas message the Iraqi leader said the season was marked by circumstances "created by the powers of evil and darkness to spread chaos" in parts of the world.