“President Trump’s resolve and Israel’s support remain unchanged,” Netanyahu said, referring to a US-led attack on sites connected to Syria’s chemical weapons program.
By: United with Israel Staff
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday expressed Israel’s “full support” for a US-led attack on sites connected to Syria’s chemical weapons program.
US, United Kingdom and French forces on Friday fired more than 100 missiles at Syrian military sites in response to President Bashar al-Assad’s chemical weapons attack on Douma, near Damascus, a week ago which killed some 200 civilians.
“A year ago, I declared Israel’s full support for President Trump’s decision to take a stand against the use and spread of chemical weapons,” Netanyahu said in a statement, referring to a previous US strike against a Syrian air base with a barrage of cruise missiles in April 2017, following a sarin gas attack by the Assad regime on Khan Sheikhoun that killed about 100 people and affected about 200 others.
“President Trump’s resolve and Israel’s support remain unchanged,” Netanyahu underscored.
“Early [Saturday] morning, under American leadership, the United States, France and the United Kingdom demonstrated that their commitment is not limited to proclamations of principle,” Netanyahu praised the Western allies.
Netanyahu further stated that “it should be clear to President Assad that his reckless efforts to acquire and use weapons of mass destruction, his wanton disregard for international law and his provision of a forward base for Iran and its proxies endanger Syria.”
On Sunday Netanyahu told British Prime Minister Theresa May that “the important international message of the attack is zero tolerance for the use of non-conventional weapons.”
He added that this policy also needs to be expressed in preventing “terrorist states and groups” from acquiring nuclear abilities, meaning Iran. He reiterated that the “main element that is subverting the Middle East more than any other” is Iran, and that Assad must understand that when he allows Iran and its proxies to establish a military presence in Syria, he “is endangering both Syria and the stability of the entire region.”
“A perfectly executed strike,” President Donald Trump tweeted Saturday in the aftermath of his second decision in just over a year to attack Syria. “Could not have had a better result. Mission Accomplished!”
The strikes “successfully hit every target,” Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said at a briefing, referring to the following three targets: a chemical weapons research and development site in the Damascus area, a chemical weapons storage facility near Homs and a chemical weapons “bunker” a few miles from the second target.
The missile strikes on three chemical-weapons sites in Syria represent a relatively small-scale action, while US Defense Secretary James Mattis said it was a “one time shot.”