by WorldTribune Staff, September 8, 2017
Israel in the early morning hours of Sept. 7 launched an attack on a Syrian facility where chemical weapons are manufactured, a report said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that an airstrike on Masyaf in central Syria hit the Scientific Studies and Research Center and an adjacent military camp where ground-to-ground rockets are stored.
Israel also targeted several weapons convoys that were en route to Hizbullah strongholds in the Hama area, the report said.
The United Nations on Sept. 6 released a report confirming that the regime of President Bashar Assad had used chemical weapons (specifically Sarin gas) to attack its own people in April when it bombed the province of Idlib.
UN investigators said that more than 80 civilians died as a direct result of the lethal attack on Khan Sheikhoun.
An IDF spokeswoman declined to comment on reports of the Sept. 7 attack, saying that the army does not comment on operational matters.
In a statement, the Syrian army warned Israel of “dangerous repercussions of this aggressive action to the security and stability of the region” following the attack.
The United States imposed sanctions on employees of the Scientific Studies and Research Center, which it describes as the Syrian agency responsible for developing and producing non-conventional weapons including chemical weapons, something Damascus denies.
Amos Yadlin, a former head of Israeli military intelligence and Executive Director of Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) took to Twitter stating that the strike was not routine and targeted a Syrian military-scientific center that develops and manufactures, among other things, precision missiles.
“The factory in the attack also produces chemical weapons and barrels of explosives that killed thousands of Syrian citizens. If the attack was conducted by Israel, it would be a commendable and moral action by Israel against the slaughter in Syria,” Yadlin said.
“The attack sent 3 important messages: Israel won’t allow for empowerment and production of strategic arms. Israel intends to enforce its red lines despite the fact that the great powers are ignoring them. The presence of Russian air defense does not prevent airstrikes attributed to Israel. Now it’s important to keep the escalation in check and to prepare for a Syrian-Iranian-Hezbollah response and even opposition from Russia.”
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