The United States cannot afford to ignore Syria’s chemical weapons usage, an Israeli intelligence minister said in a recent radio interview according to Israel Hayom.
International, Intelligence and Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz said that a strike on Syria was necessary. Additionally, he said that Assad was not likely to retaliate against Israel immediately after a strike by the United States.
Israel Hayom reported:
"I'm not so sure that any American strike on Syria will lead to a Syrian attack on Israel. I believe that the chances of that are actually slim," Steinitz said. "Regardless, we have to be ready in terms of both our defensive options and our offensive ones."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the weekly cabinet meeting Sunday that "what happened in Syria was a horrible tragedy and a terrible crime. Our hearts go out to the women, children and babies who were so brutally struck down by weapons of mass destruction. This situation cannot go on. The most dangerous regimes in the world cannot be allowed to have the most dangerous weapons in the world."
Israel, he said, "always has one finger on the pulse [of the Middle East] and another finger -- if necessary -- on the trigger. We will always know how to defend itself and its citizens against those who wish it harm. That is the principle that is guiding this government."