BICOM

Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, expressed concern yesterday over Syria’s chemical weapon stockpile falling into the hands of Hezbollah, amid reports of high-level security talks and coordination with the United States and Russia to prevent such a scenario.

Speaking at the start of a cabinet meeting yesterday, Netanyahu said that Israel’s government must look closely at “the deadly weapons in Syria, which is increasingly coming apart.” Israel has repeatedly expressed concerns that Syria’s chemical stockpile, reportedly the third largest in the world, could fall into the hands of dangerous armed groups, in particular Hezbollah in Lebanon, amid the chaos of Syria’s internal conflict. It is widely reported that Netanyahu convened lengthy talks with senior ministers and top army and intelligence officials over the last several days to assess the situation.

The Israeli media reports this morning that Netanyahu met yesterday with US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro to discuss the issue. Maariv claims that National Security Advisor Yaakov Amidror is being dispatched to Moscow today to coordinate efforts with Russia, Syrian President Assad’s major international ally, to prevent chemical weapons from reaching Hezbollah. Meanwhile, two Iron Dome anti-missile defence system batteries have been deployed in the north of the country. However, the IDF has described it as part of routine operations.

Israel’s Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom told Army Radio yesterday that if needed, “we will take action to prevent chemical weapons from being transferred to Islamic terror organisations,” while Channel Two’s senior security analyst Ehud Yaari speculated “Something is happening for sure.” He described clashes reportedly taking place near an apparent chemical weapons installation southeast of Aleppo and commented, “Even in Israel, which is usually tense…this is exceptional now.”