Israeli official says Syria must not have chemical weapons

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel’s quality curate said Tuesday that Syria cannot beryllium allowed to get chemic weapons, aft a study emerged that Israel targeted the country’s chemic weapons facilities.

In an interrogation with Israeli Army Radio, Elazar Stern would not straight remark connected the study successful the Washington Post that said that Israel struck Syria connected 2 occasions — erstwhile this twelvemonth and erstwhile past twelvemonth — successful a bid to artifact attempts to rebuild its chemic weapons stockpile. But Stern, a retired subject general, hinted that Israel could not judge specified weapons successful the hands of its force to the north.

“We person a neighbour who has already proved that it doesn’t hesitate to usage chemic weapons adjacent against its ain people,” helium said. “(Syrian President Bashar) Assad indispensable not person chemic weapons.”

Israeli officials person declined to remark connected the Washington Post report.

Military affairs commentators successful Israel, who often are briefed by apical defence officials, said the timing of the study was not a coincidence and comes arsenic negotiators are gathering with Iran successful Vienna to effort to revive a 2015 atomic deal.

Iran has adjacent ties with Syria and has sent troops to backmost the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad successful his country’s decade-long civilian war.

“It was a awesome to each of the actors, Iran and the United States, that Israel is superior astir acting against the improvement of non-conventional weapons by its enemies,” wrote Yossi Yehoshua successful the Yediot Ahronot daily.

Israel has agelong opposed the 2015 atomic woody betwixt planetary powers and Iran, which granted Iran alleviation from economical sanctions successful speech for curbs connected its atomic program.

Instead, it has called for an accord with adjacent tighter safeguards connected Iran’s atomic programme and addresses different Iranian subject behavior, specified arsenic its rocket programme and enactment for anti-Israel militant groups similar Lebanon’s Hezbollah. Israel besides supports a “credible” subject menace against Iran arsenic leverage.

Israel believes Iran is trying to make a atomic limb — a complaint Iran denies.

One of the strikes cited by the Washington Post, connected June 8, was reported by Syrian authorities media arsenic an Israeli aerial onslaught adjacent the Syrian superior Damascus and successful the cardinal state of Homs, that prompted a effect from Syrian nationalist aerial defenses. There was nary notation successful authoritative media of what was targeted successful the strikes, though large explosions were heard successful Damascus.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based radical that intimately monitors the warfare successful Syria, reported Israeli planes struck subject targets successful the countryside of Homs and Damascus. It said the targeted sites included a technological probe halfway successful the vicinity of the colony of Khirbet al-Tineh, northwest of Homs, successful summation to an ammunition depot apt to beryllium to Hezbollah, southbound of Homs. The strikes killed 11 soldiers, including a colonel, it said.

Unconfirmed reports published by pro-Assad media astatine the clip identified the colonel arsenic a starring chemist astatine the Scientific Studies and Research Center, Gen. Ayham Sueleiman Ismail.

The halfway is simply a authorities bureau described by the Syrians arsenic a installation for the advancement of technological probe successful the state but has been agelong described by Syria watchers arsenic an outfit for the improvement of chemical, biologic and different weapons.

Israel is believed to person struck facilities associated with the SSRC connected galore occasions successful the past.

Syria joined the Chemical Weapons Convention successful September 2013, pressed by Russia aft a deadly chemic weapons onslaught that the West blamed connected Damascus. By August 2014, the Assad authorities declared that the demolition of its chemic weapons was completed, but its archetypal declaration of chemic stockpiles and accumulation sites to the OPCW has remained successful dispute. OPCW investigators person blamed 3 chemic attacks successful 2017 connected President Bashar Assad’s government.

Earlier this year, the U.N.’s disarmament chief, Izumi Nakamitsu, told the Security Council that Damascus’ declaration of its chemic stockpiles and chemic weapons accumulation sites astir 8 years agone remains incomplete.

Associated Press writer Zeina Karam successful Beirut contributed to this report.