Israeli Military Chief: Attacking Syria May Lead to War

Syria Bolstering Defenses Ahead of Threatened Attack

Speaking to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, which was debating the possibility of invading Syria, Israel’s military chief of staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz cautioned that attacking the country was a serious prospect, which could lead to a war.

Israeli leadership has been raising the prospect of a unilateral invasion of Syria, already in the middle of an ongoing civil war, to capture the regime’s more advanced weaponry including both chemical weapons and anti-aircraft missiles.

Gantz cautioned that invading Syria to do so could easily escalate to a broader regional conflict. Syria is reportedly deploying more troops around possible targets in the event of an Israeli attack.

He also sought to downplay Syria using chemical weapons to oppose such an invasion, saying Syria had not fired “a single bullet” against Israel during the civil war. Several Western officials have condemned Syria for comments to that effect, though they were couched primarily as a denial that they would use the chemical weapons against civilian populations.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.