Israel will "have to act" on Syria chemical weapons fears - PMJuly 23, 2012 - 18:25 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Israel will "have to act" if the Syrian regime collapses and there is a risk Syria's chemical weapons and missiles could fall into the hands of militant groups, the Jewish state's prime minister warned, according to Belfast Telegraph. The deteriorating situation of President Bashar Assad's regime is stoking Israeli fears that militants affiliated with Lebanon's Hezbollah group or the al Qaida terror network could raid Syrian military arsenals for chemicals weapons or missiles that could strike Israel. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had not considered specifically trying to cross the border to seize the weapons. "There are other possibilities," he said in an interview on Fox News. Over the weekend, defence minister Ehud Barak said Israel would be prepared to attack Syrian weapons arsenals should the need arise. Mr Netanyahu said preventing Syria's weapons from falling into the wrong hands was key to Israeli security. "Could you imagine Hezbollah, the people who are conducting with Iran all these terror attacks around the world - could you imagine them having chemical weapons? It would be like al Qaida having chemical weapons," he said. "It's something that is not acceptable to us, not acceptable to the United States and to any peaceable country in the world. So I think that this is something we'll have to act to stop if the need arises. And the need might arise if there's a regime collapse, but not a regime change." When asked whether Israel was prepared to act alone, Mr Netanyahu said Syria's stockpile was a "common concern" and that "we'd have to see if there was a common action to address that concern". Mr Netanyahu said he believed the fall of the regime was inevitable, but that it could take days, weeks or months. Amos Gilad, a senior Israeli Defence Ministry official, told Israel's Army Radio yesterday that "right now, they (the Syrian regime) are maintaining control of these arsenals as best they can". Mr Barak made it clear that Israel was preparing for the worst. "I've ordered the Israeli military to prepare for a situation where we would have to weigh the possibility of carrying out an attack" against Syrian weapons arsenals, he said. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Government reveals details from Pashinyan’s meeting in border village Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has met with a group of residents of a border village in Armenia’s northern Tavush province Narek Manasyan wins European Boxing Championships silver for Armenia Armenia’s Narek Manasyan (92kg) won Armenia’s second silver medal at the European Boxing Championships 2024 on April 28. Blinken urges Azerbaijan to continue negotiations with Armenia Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has urged Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to continue negotiations with Armenia. Pashinyan, Blinken talk Armenia-U.S. ties over the phone Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on April 28, Pashinyan’s office reports. |