Israel said to fear rebels could capture Syria chemical weapons facility

The Israeli military fears that amid the Syrian rebel assault and their taking over of military sites belonging to the Assad regime in the country, chemical weapons could fall into the wrong hands, Haaretz reports.

The report says that the main concern is that rebels or Iran-backed militias could reach weapons in Syria that pose a significant threat to Israel, such as missiles or chemical weapons.

If such weapons fall into the hands of the rebels or Iranian militias, Israel would have to act in a way that “may affect Syria and the entire Middle East,” according to Haaretz.

The report adds that Israel recently conveyed messages to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, via Russia, demanding that he “uphold his sovereignty and not allow Iran to operate in his territory.”

Yesterday, IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said that Israel was closely monitoring the developments in Syria, stressing that “we need to make sure that we are not threatened.”