Israeli military intelligence has provided evidence proving that President Bashar al-Assad’s regime is responsible for chemical weapons attacks against Syrian civilians, according to The Guardian. The 8200 unit of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), which specializes in electronic surveillance, reportedly intercepted a conversation between Syrian officials regarding the use of chemical weapons.
An unnamed former Mossad official told the German magazine, Focus, that the IDF intercepted the incriminating conversation and relayed that information to the United States.
Senior Israeli officials arrived in Washington on Monday to convey their most recent intelligence findings and to consult with National Security Adviser, Susan Rice. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and officials will discuss the chances of Syrian retaliation against Israel pending US intervention in Syria, the Guardian reports.
An unnamed senior Syrian army officer told an Iranian news agency that “If Syria is attacked, Israel will also be set on fire and such an attack will, in turn engage Syria’s neighbours.”
As the United Nations (UN) chemical weapons investigators enter their second day of investigations outside Damascus, UN Secretary Ban Ki-moon is urging the US and the United Kingdom to delay military intervention in Syria. Ki-moon said more time should be allowed for the inspectors to visit the sites of alleged chemical weapons attacks and further time to analyze their findings.
Yesterday, US Secretary of State, John Kerry, said that the use of chemical weapons in Syria was “undeniable” and “a moral obscenity.” Kerry also stated that “There must be accountability.”
“What we saw in Syria last week should shock the conscience of the world,” Kerry said. “This is about the large-scale, indiscriminate use of weapons that the civilized world, long ago, decided must never be used at all.”
Last week, Syrian opposition forces accused al-Assad’s government of gassing hundreds of citizens. The Syrian National Coalition put the death toll at as many as 1,300 at that time. Images obtained by Reuters showed scores of bodies, including many of small children, laid in rows on clinic floors, without any visible signs of injury.
Alisha is a writer and researcher with Ring of Fire. Follow her on Twitter @childoftheearth.
