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| Daily News Brief May 6, 2013 |
Top of the Agenda: Chemical Weapons Questioned in Syria As Israel Launches Second Strike
Syrian rebels said they shot down a government helicopter in the east of the country, killing eight (NYT)
troops as new accusations emerged that the opposition seeking to
overthrow President Bashar al-Assad may have used chemical weapons in
the war. Carla del Ponte, the UN's leading investigator (BBC),
said Monday that there were "strong, concrete suspicions" that rebels
used the nerve agent sarin, but that there was no "incontrovertible
proof." Meanwhile, Israel reportedly launched a second air strike
targeting a military research center in Syria after reports that the
Israel Air Force had carried out a strike (Haaretz) early Friday targeting a shipment of missiles bound for Hezbollah.
Analysis
"Israel's highest ranking defense officials have made it clear that Israel would also stop "game-changing" weapons from making their way to Hezbollah.
And not only chemical weapons. The Israeli airstrikes, according to
Western Intelligence sources, around Damascus over the weekend were
proof that Israel means business," writes Ben Caspit for al-Monitor.
"Hezbollah's operations against Israel have nothing to do with protecting Lebanon and defending Palestine. Hezbollah is merely an Iranian brigade
which has been founded for more than 30 years to serve the aims of the
Ayatollah's regime in Tehran," writes Abdulrahman al-Rashed for al-Arabiya.
"Israel did not seek permission from the United States before launching two missile strikes this weekend hitting targets inside Syria—but the strikes were part of a policy that Washington had already signaled its acquiescence to," writes Eli Lake for the Daily Beast.
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