Decisions to Ship Arms to Both Sides in Syrian Civil War Sparks Fears in Israel

 The decision by the European Union this week to allow the expiration of the arms embargo on military hardware shipments to Syria’s rebels was met immediately with a declaration from Russia that they would increase their shipments of weapons to the Assad government. Both of these announcements sparked fears in Israel, which has been watching developments to the north with a wary eye for months now as the civil war has dragged on.

The United Nations estimates that some 80,000 people have been killed in the fighting, and more than 1,000,000 refugees have fled their homes in search of safety. The fighting has drawn radicals from around the world—Hezbollah terrorists and Iranian “volunteers” to fight for the government, and a number of al Qaeda-affiliated groups to fight with the rebels.

                               

Neither group is one that Israel wants to see furnished with advanced weapons. The lessons of the fiasco in Libya may be forgotten by much of the world, but they are remembered well in Israel, which confiscated huge shipments of advanced surface to air missiles that were given to Libyan forces fighting against the government, but ended up in Gaza in the hands of Hamas terrorists.
 

 

 Israel’s government responded forcefully to Russia’s promise to send advanced missiles to Syria with a threat to destroy them when they arrive. This is undoubtedly a step Israel would prefer not to take, but the idea of missiles capable of shooting down Israeli military or civilian planes in the hands of those who wish to see Israel destroyed is not acceptable either. 

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To the Jew first and also to the Nations,
Jonathan Bernis