Netanyahu: We Anticipate a Deterioration
Israel is gearing up for a deterioration in the regional situation, with a growing number of new threats facing the Jewish state, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday, the AFP news agency reports. Netanyahu made the comments as he watched an exercise simulating the response to a chemical attack on a residential neighborhood in Jerusalem as part of an annual civil defense drill.
Russia blasts US double standards over Syrian peace progress
He added that Russia currently sees no alternative to the peace conference, which would hopefully gather all interested parties, including the Syrian government, various Syrian opposition groups, regional powers like Iran and other. But doing it requires a genuine joint effort.
U.S.-backed Syrian rebels reportedly massacre Christian village
Members of the Free Syrian Army reportedly attacked the Christian-dominated al-Duvair village in Reef on the outskirts of Homs on Monday, where they massacred its citizens, including women and children, before the Syrian Army interfered.
Israel’s defense chief said Tuesday a Russian plan to supply sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles to Syria was a “threat” and signaled that Israel is prepared to use force to stop the delivery.
Yaalon: We’ll Know what to Do If Syria Gets S-300
Israel “will know what to do” if Russia delivers highly advanced anti-aircraft missiles to Syria, Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said Tuesday. AFP said this was “an apparent allusion to another air strike” on Syria. “The deliveries have not taken place – I can attest to this – and I hope they do not. But if, by misfortune, they arrive in Syria, we will know what to do,” Yaalon said.
Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Avigdor Lieberman says Iran is moving at a “crazy pace” toward a nuclear weapon; no doubt that Assad has used chemical weapons; and Hezbollah missiles can hit anywhere in Israel.
The kidnapping of IDF soldiers is at the heart of Palestinian culture, a military Hamas spokesman said on Tuesday, responding to a speech by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in which Abbas called such abductions alien to Palestinian norms.