BICOM

Israel’s security cabinet met yesterday to discuss the deteriorating situation in Syria.

The ministers considered a proposal to bring Syrian children wounded in last week’s chemical weapons attack to Israel for treatment. Yisrael Katz, Minister for Transport and Intelligence, proposed the idea on moral and humanitarian grounds. Although the policy was widely supported, Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman raised concerns about the complex logistics of coordinating with Turkey as Idlib is close to the Turkish border. The Prime Minister’s office said the policy was being explored but no vote took place.

Speaking ahead of the weekly cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel fully supported the US air strikes last week for “moral reasons in light of the harsh scenes from Idlib and to make it clear that there is a price for using chemical weapons”. He said: “Israel is caring for wounded Syrians as part of a humanitarian effort. We will continue to do so.”

Israel has provided humanitarian and medical assistance to more than 3,000 wounded Syrians along its Northern border, but has not intervened in the civil war. Israeli forces have repeatedly hit targets in Syria to prevent the supply of advanced weapons to Hezbollah and to stop Iran or Hezbollah setting up military infrastructure along the border.

Some Israeli commentators have suggested that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s chemical weapons pose a direct threat to Israel. Speaking to Army Radio this morning, Yoav Galant, former commander of the Southern Command and Construction Minister, said that the threat facing Israel from chemical weapons was small, pointing out that Assad primarily uses his weapons against those who can’t respond.