Ehud Barak says he’s ready to hand in his gas mask

Defense Minister Ehud Barak said he is confident that Israel will not be attacked with non-conventional weapons because of the expected consequences to the aggressor.

“There is no entity in the world that will dare attack Israel with chemical weapons,” Barak said in an interview with Israel Radio on Monday, noting that he was prepared to give up his own state-issued gas mask to prove his point.

The comments come after a wave of concern swept the country amid a an exchange of thinly veiled warnings between Israel and Syria.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman warned last week that the transfer of weapons of mass destruction to Lebanese terror group Hezbollah would constitue a casus belli for Israel. In an interview with Fox News, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel may have to act to keep Syrian chemical weapons out of the wrong hands.

Also last week, a Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman declared that the regime would use chemical weapons if attacked by foreign forces. As reported by MEMRI, other senior officials echoed his claims.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry7_oxb92CY&feature=player_embedded#t=40s

As the civil war in Syria continues and the Damascus government vies with rebel forces for control of key areas, there are mounting fears over the security of the country’s chemical weapons depots. A primary concern is that the rebels will gain control of the weapons of mass destruction or that they may fall into the hands of terror groups.