Chemical cache: ‘No proof poison gas used in Syria’

Israel voices doubt about accuracy of Syrian activists’ reports that chemical weapons had been used against rebels.

JERUSALEM: Israel voiced doubt on Tuesday about the accuracy of Syrian activists’ reports that chemical weapons had been used against rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad.

“We have seen reports from the opposition. It is not the first time. The opposition has an interest in drawing in international military intervention,” Vice Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon said on Army Radio.

“As things stand now, we do not have any confirmation or proof that (chemical weapons) have already been used, but we are definitely following events with concern,” he said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights gathered activist accounts on Sunday of what they said was a poison gas attack in the city of Homs.

The reports are difficult to verify, as the government restricts media access in Syria. Syria has said it would never use chemical weapons against its citizens.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 26^th, 2012.