Liberman: We’ll stop chemical weapons from reaching Hezbollah

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman stressed that Israel will not allow the smuggling of chemical weapons to Iranian proxy Hezbollah.

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman specified to the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Thursday that Israel has been working to prevent the Lebanon-based Shia terrorist group Hezbollah from getting its hands on chemical weapons.  

“Our policies and our positions are very clear and are based on three red lines,” Liberman said. “We will not allow any harm to come to Israeli citizens, we will not allow any harm to the sovereignty of the State of Israel and we will not allow the smuggling of sophisticated weapons or chemical weapons from Syria to Lebanon for Hezbollah.”

The Defense Minister’s comments elaborated on remarks he made Wednesday to a number of European Union ambassadors regarding Israeli military actions in Syria, following an alleged Israeli strike just west of Damascus. As Liberman explained, “We are trying to prevent the smuggling of advanced weapons, military equipment and weapons of mass destruction from Syria to Hezbollah.”

He did not, however, specify the particular weapons at the center of those smuggling efforts. Thursday’s comments clarified that chemical weapons were involved.

Despite Israel’s commitment towards ensuring that Hezbollah never obtain chemical weapons, Defense Minister Liberman reiterated Israel’s neutrality in the Syrian civil war. “Israel has no interest in intervening in the civil war in Syria,” he stressed, but, in order to protect its own interests, the Jewish state “will make decisions freely, regardless of other circumstances.”

By: Jonathan Benedek, World Israel News

Avigdor LibermanChemical weaponsHezbollah