Israel, Jordan hold secret talks over Assad’s chemical weapons stockpile

Intelligence officials also raised concerns about Iran exploiting Syria’s instability to smuggle weapons to terrorist factions in Judea and Samaria.

By Jewish Breaking News

Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad became infamous in 2013 after he attacked his own people with chemical weapons in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta, killing hundreds of civilians and children.

Using chlorine gas and sarin nerve agents, Assad carried out similar attacks again in 2017 and 2018 in the Idlib province, killing hundreds more.

Assad’s escape from Syria last week following rebel advances has raised urgent concerns about his abandoned chemical weapons stockpiles potentially falling into terrorist hands.

Secret high-level talks between Israel and Jordan have emerged in response to this terrifying threat, according to three Israeli intelligence officials cited by Axios.

Jordan has positioned itself as a key mediator between Israel and Syria’s Hay’at Tahrir ash-Sham (HTS), the Sunni Islamist opposition group that led the revolution against Assad.

Israel’s Shin Bet security agency and senior IDF officers secretly met Friday with Ahmad Husni, the director of Jordanian general intelligence, and top Jordanian military commanders to help secure Assad’s chemical weapons stockpiles and open a dialogue of communication with HTS.

Intelligence officials also raised concerns about Iran exploiting Syria’s instability to smuggle weapons to terrorist factions in Judea and Samaria.

Meanwhile, Israel has taken matters into its own hands by conducting strikes on chemical weapon warehouses and seizing territory in the Golan Heights, including the Syrian military outpost on Mount Hermon.

On Sunday, the IDF announced it has conducted nearly 500 airstrikes on Syrian military targets and destroyed most of Assad’s air force, navy, and air defense systems.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly told White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan that the IDF will “temporarily” maintain control of the border area in Syria, while senior Israeli officials indicated that the IDF will retain its presence in Syria’s buffer zone for “several months and maybe longer.”

In response, Syria’s ambassador to the United Nations, Koussay Aldahhak, sent a letter to the Security Council protesting Israel’s actions.

“At a time when the Syrian Arab Republic is witnessing a new phase in its history in which its people aspire to a state of freedom, equality, social justice, the rule of law, peace and stability, the Israeli occupation army has escalated its ongoing aggression on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic,” Aldahhak said.

“Syria renews its call on the United Nations and the Security Council to assume their responsibilities and take firm measures to compel Israel to immediately cease its ongoing attacks on Syrian territory, ensure that they are not repeated, and withdraw immediately according to the areas agreed upon in the Disengagement Agreement.”

HTS leader Ahmad al-Shara also condemned Israel’s military actions, calling them “an unjustified escalation” and urged the international community to help “respect Syrian sovereignty.”

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