BICOM

“The transfer of chemical weapons by Syria to Hezbollah will be a declaration of war,” warned a high-ranking security official in Israel Hayom. The official added that Israel would not be able to resign itself to such a turn of events and would take action to prevent it from happening. The official added that for Israel any transfer of advanced weapons, and chemical weapons in particular, represent a crossing of a red line. “Hezbollah is a terrorist organisation far less predictable [than Syria], and it must not be allowed to toy with the idea of using non-conventional weapons,” he said.

Concerns in Israel have been steadily mounting that unrest in Syria could lead to advanced weaponry finding its way to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Several types of advanced weapons have been transferred to Hezbollah in the past, but remain in Syria to reduce the possibility of Israel targeting them.

However, the ongoing deterioration within Syria and the possibility of the collapse of the Assad regime has raised the possibility that these weapons could now be moved into Lebanon. The weapons in question include a large quantity of long-range rockets, advanced anti-aircraft and, above all others, chemical weapons.  Syria is the country with the largest stores of chemical weapons in the Middle East, some of which are extremely lethal, such as Sarin and VX agents.

Currently, troops close to the regime closely supervise these weapons but Assad may, in fear of losing power or under pressure from Iran, order his the transfer of some of those weapons to Lebanon, which is now perceived as being more stable than Syria. “Syria, which used to be an island of stability, is turning into a torn country in which battles are raging, and Lebanon is proving to be the more stable part of the equation,” said the high-ranking official to Israel Hayom.