Defense Minister tells Ch. 10 he has instructed military to prepare for feasible operation if Syrian government attempts to hands missiles or chemical weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“I have instructed the military to boost its intelligence preparations and prepare what is necessary so that … (if required) … we will be capable to contemplate carrying out an operation,” Barak said in an interview on Channel 10 television.
“We are following … the possible transfer of advanced munitions systems, mainly anti-aircraft missiles or heavy ground-to-ground missiles, but there could also be a possibility of the transfer of chemical means (weapons) from Syria to Lebanon,” he added.
“The moment (Syrian President Bashar al-Assad) starts to fall we will conduct intelligence monitoring and will liaise with other agencies,” Barak said.
Hezbollah, which has in the past received military and financial support from Syria and Iran, launched thousands of mainly short-range rockets into Israelduring Israel’s 2006 offensive in southern Lebanon, but some longer-range rockets reached central Israel.
Sources and more information:
• ‘US, Israel discuss destroying Syrian weapons’
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