Assad is using chemical weapons against men, women and children, says Israeli deputy minister

A leading Israeli government politician on Saturday accused the Assad regime of using chemical weapons against Syrian civilians.

Photos he has seen, said Israel’s Deputy Minister for Development of the Negev and Galilee, Ayoub Kara (Likud), left no doubt that the forces of President Bashar Assad have used chemical weapons against Syrian men, women and children.

Kara also told Israel Radio that Israeli doctors are currently on the border between Syria and Turkey treating people injured in the violent clashes between Assad’s troops and opposition forces.

Earlier Saturday, Kara, a Druze Israeli, told a meeting of Druze community leaders in the Golan Heights that Israel is ready to accept Syrians injured in the 15-month long crackdown by the government that has killed more than 13,000 people according to Syrian activists.

He added that Israel is willing to send doctors to Jordan in order to treat the wounded.

“Israel is ready to receive casualties who are evacuated from Syria to Israel, and alternatively we are ready to send medical assistance through Jordan to those unfortunate children and babies whose families have been annihilated by the shabiha of the Syrian regime,” Kara said. The shabiha are pro-government militiamen who have been accused of perpetrating some of the worst atrocities against civilians in recent months.

There was no confirmation from other government officials regarding the deputy minister’s comments.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman has said several times in recent months that Israel is ready to offer humanitarian assistance to Syrian civilians affected by the violence there.