Rivlin: Israel Will ‘Do All it Can’ to Aid Survivors of Syrian Gas Attack

President Reuven Rivlin pledged that Israel “will do all it can” to aid the survivors of Assad’s chemical weapons attack on Syrian civilians. 

Israel’s leaders issued sharp condemnation of the chemical attack perpetrated by the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday against citizens in the Idlib province that killed dozens, demanding that the world take action against these atrocities.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was “shocked and outraged” by images of the victims and called on the international community to “fully and finally remove these horrible weapons from Syria.”

President Reuven Rivlin stated that the incident was “a stain on all humanity,” demanding that the international community, “in its entirety,” come together to bring an end to “this murderous madness and ensure that such scenes will never be repeated anywhere.”

“I call on the leaders of the international community – and among them the leading powers – to act now, without delay, to stop these criminal, murderous acts taking place in Syria by the hand of the Assad regime, and to work urgently to remove all stockpiles of chemical weapons from Syrian territory,” he stated.

He pledged that Israel, “a people which survived the greatest of atrocities and rose from the ashes to be a strong and secure nation,” will do all it can to continue to aid “the survivors of the horrors in Syria.”

“We know all too well how dangerous silence can be, and we cannot remain mute,” he concluded.

Bennett Urges Emergency Security Cabinet Meeting

Education Minister Naftali Bennett urged Netanyahu to convene an emergency security cabinet on the situation. The use of chemical weapons in neighboring Syria against civilians should force Israel to “rethink its stance,” he said, adding the importance of examining the “security implications on the region” as well as the “systematic genocide” in Syria.

Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked called on prominent world Jewish leaders to use their influence to promote action.

“We as Jews are faced with the obligation to at least shout out to the nations of the world, in particular to President Trump, to take action and stop the horrible massacre that has continued for six years, using conventional and non-conventional weapons,” she stated.

‘Another Chemical Attack and the World Stays Silent’

Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Danny Danon said that “the world cannot be silent in the face of the horrific massacre in Syria and allow this devastation to repeat itself.” He called on the UN to act “immediately” to put an end to the use of any chemical weapons and ensure their removal from Syria.

“This is the UN’s true purpose and it must fulfill this fundamental responsibility,” he stated.

Israel has repeatedly warned against the dangers posed by Assad’s regime, maintaining that the project to terminate his chemical weapons capabilities was not reliable. A former chief of military intelligence, Amos Yadlin, said that the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons against civilians is a red line and even suggested that Israel should destroy Syrian planes engaged in such attacks.

Assad should “pay for his war crimes,” he said, adding, “another chemical attack and the world stays silent.”

By: United with Israel Staff