WarSclerotic

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon toured the Golan Heights on Tuesday afternoon, and vowed that Israel would prevent the proliferation of weapons “that could threaten us in the future” to radical elements in Syria.

The comments came hours after Arab media reports said Syrian rebels, including the jihadi Jabhat Al-Nusra group, seized the town of Al-Safira near Aleppo, which is reportedly close to a large military facility that stores chemical arms.

The area has been marked by previous fighting between the Syrian army and rebel forces in recent months.

Despite the report, the IDF has not raised its level of alert at this time.

During his tour, Ya’alon was briefed by IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz, the head of the Northern Command, Maj.-Gen. Yair Golan, and the commanders of northern army divisions.

“I’ve arrived to tour the Northern Command, here at the Golan Heights, to monitor from up close the developments over the border,” Ya’alon said.

The defense minister noted that a brutal civil war is raging in Syria that has led to tens of thousands of casualties, adding that thousands were being killed every month.

“But we’re not getting involved so long as this does not harm our interests. When it harms our interests, whether through Grad rocket fire from over the border, whether it is intended to hit our territory or not, we respond in order to silence the source of the fire, as occurred last week,” Ya’alon added.

Israel is also closely monitoring the potential proliferation of strategic weapons to groups “from Hezbollah in Lebanon to terror organizations that are active here in Syria. We’ve acted against this in the past and we’ll act to ensure that these types of weapons don’t reach irresponsible hands,” the defense minister said.

According to foreign media reports, on January 30, just before dawn, , the Israel Air Force struck a convoy in Syria carrying advanced anti-aircraft systems to Hezbollah.

Ya’alon said on Tuesday that the Golan region is calm, and called on tourists to continue to visit the area this spring and summer “to enjoy the beautiful views here.”

At the end of March, the IDF twice came under cross-border fire from the Syrian army, prompting it to fire a Tamuz guided surface-to-surface missile at a Syrian army post in response.

The missile struck its target, reportedly wounding two Syrian soldiers at a machine-gun nest.