Israel Warns That It May Pre-Emptively Strike Syria to Prevent Dissemination of Chemical Weapons

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) heads the first weekly Cabinet meeting since the nation's General Election, at his office on January 27, 2013 in Jerusalem, Israel. (Photo: Getty Images)

(TheBlaze/AP) -- Israel could launch a pre-emptive strike to stop Syria's chemical weapons from reaching Lebanon's Hezbollah or al-Qaida inspired groups, officials said Sunday.

The warning came as the military moved a rocket defense system to a main northern city, and Israel's premier warned of dangers from both Syria and Iran."

"We are facing many threats, from the most dangerous ones, which I have mentioned, to others and reality continues to evolve - in the east, in the north, in the south - the entire area is raging and we must prepared and strong and determined in the face of any possible development," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday.

Israel has long expressed concerns that Syrian President Bashar Assad, clinging to power during a 22-month civil war, could lose control over his chemical weapons.

Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom said Sunday that Israel's top security officials held a special meeting last week to discuss Syria's chemical weapons arsenal, but the fact of the meeting, held the morning after a national election, had not been made public before.

Shalom told the Army Radio station that the transfer of weapons to violent groups, particularly the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah, would be a game changer.

"It would be crossing a line that would demand a different approach, including even action," he said. Asked whether this might mean a pre-emptive attack, he said: "We will have to make the decisions."

Rebel fighters carry heavy weapons as they prepare to fight against Syrian regime forces in the village of Kurnaz, close to the western city of Hama, on January 27, 2013. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Israel has kept out of the civil war that has engulfed Syria and killed more than 60,000 people, but is concerned that violence could spill over from its northern border.

Israel deployed its Iron Dome rocket defense system in the northern city of Haifa on Sunday. The city was battered by Hezbollah rocket fire during a war in the summer of 2006, but the military called the deployment "routine."

Iron Dome, an Israel-developed system that shoots down incoming short-range rockets, was used to defend Israeli cities during a round of hostilities with Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, on Israel's southern flank, last November.

Yisrael Hasson, a lawmaker and former deputy head of Israel's Shin Bet intelligence agency, said Israel is closely following developments in Syria to make sure chemical weapons don't "fall into the wrong hands."

"Syria has a massive amount of chemical weapons, and if they fall into hands even more extreme than Syria like Hezbollah or global jihad groups it would completely transform the map of threats," Hasson told Army Radio.

"Global jihad" is the term Israel uses for forces influenced by al-Qaida. Syria's rebels include al-Qaida-allied groups.

Syrian rebels take position in the northwestern Syrian town of Jisr al-Shughur on January 25, 2013. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Iran is Syria's main regional ally, and a former Iranian official warned Friday that Iran won't hesitate to use nuclear weapons against Israel and its supporters when it has the capability.

"We must look around us, at what is happening in Iran and its proxies and at what is happening in other areas, with the deadly weapons in Syria, which is increasingly coming apart," Netanyahu repeated.

Israel views Iran as an existential threat because of its nuclear and missile programs and support for violent anti-Israeli groups in Lebanon and Gaza, as well as repeated references by Iranian leaders to Israel's destruction. But Iran denies it is seeking to build atomic weapons, insisting its nuclear program is for civilian purposes.

Either way, tensions are running high in the Middle East and another storm appears to be brewing.

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