US and Israel coordinating on Syrian WMDs, US envoy says
Ambassador Dan Shapiro doesn’t say whether Washington would support a military strike on chemical weapons stockpiles
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleIlan Ben Zion is an AFP reporter and a former news editor at The Times of Israel.
The United States and Israel are coordinating for the eventuality that Hezbollah will get its hands on Syrian non-conventional weapons, US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro said on Thursday.
Shapiro, speaking during a visit to Netanya, refused to comment as to whether the US supported a preemptive military operation on Syrian weapons depots. He noted, however, that the Obama administration supported the Syrian opposition in its attempt to realize a new, stable government with peace and respect for the rights of the Syrian people.
Israel has said it would use force to prevent Syria’s chemical weapons from falling into terrorists’ hands as President Bashar Assad’s regime comes under increasing fire. On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman said Israel would consider any transfer of chemical weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon a cause for war.
In an interview earlier this week with Fox News, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel may have to act to keep Syrian chemical weapons out of the wrong hands.
Syria is thought to have one of the largest chemical weapons stockpiles in the world, with supplies of sarin and VX nerve agents, cyanide and mustard gas.
The Times of Israel Community.