WarSclerotic

Iran is using Syria as a testing ground and carefully watching how the world responds to Damascus’ use of chemical weapons against its own people, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Thursday.

This was Netanyahu’s first public comment on reports of the massacre Wednesday of hundreds of Syrian civilians by Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces using chemical weapons.

“The reported use of chemical weapons against innocent civilians is terribly disturbing,” he said. “If verified, it will be a horrible addition to the roster of tragic crimes committed by the Syrian regime against the people of Syria.” The Prime Minister, in an allusion to Iran’s nuclear program, said the events in Syria just further prove that it was forbidden for the world’s most dangerous regimes to gain possession of the world’s most dangerous arms.

Netanyahu characterized as “absurd” a situation where UN investigators, who are now in Damascus to investigate the possible previous use of chemical weapons, were prevented by the Syrian regime from going to the newly afflicted area.

International Relations Minister Yuval Stenitz went even further than Netanyahu in criticizing the UN efforts, saying that the UN investigation of Assad’s use of chemical weapons was a “joke.” “To now investigate claims of the use of chemical weapon a half a year and a year ago, and not investigate what happened last night, is ridiculous,” Steinitz told Israel Radio. He took the world to task for doing “nothing significant” over the last two years to end Assad’s slaughter of his own people “We are dealing with the cruelest of regimes,” he said, “and the world, meets, investigates, and pays lip service.

He said Israel’s policy was not to interfere in the domestic affairs of the neighboring Arab states, “except when there are cases of an immediate threat to Israel as the democratic, Jewish state located precisely in the middle of the turmoil.” Steinitz said that according to Israel’s intelligence estimates chemical weapons were used Wednesday in Syria, and it would not be the first time.

Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee head Avigdor Liberman told Radio 103 in Tel Aviv that it was “beyond a doubt” that Assad used chemical weapons. According to Liberman, the rebels have become adept at taking soil and clothes samples and passing it on to intelligence agencies in the west.

According to Liberman, the latest incident, which apparently involved the use of Scud missiles, represented the crossing of all red lines. Israel would be wise, he advised, taking note that even with this, the UN Security Council is unable to make a decision and “the international community is avoiding taking responsibility.” The silence on Syria shows the worth of international guarantees to Israel’s security, he said, adding that the first lesson for Israel is that “in the moment of truth Israel can rely only on itself.” Asked about Israel’s moral responsibility to take action, Liberman said “Israel is not standing on the side and not doing anything,” and cited the medical treatment Israel has provided a few dozen Syrians injured over the last few month s in the fighting.

“We took in injured; we are in contact with the international community on Syria.,” he said. “First and foremost we have to worry about Israel and its citizens, and we need to be paying close attention and ready for any development.”