January 7, 2013

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel will erect a security fence along its border with Syria, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

“We know that on other side of our border with Syria today, the Syrian army has moved away, and in its place, Global Jihad forces have moved in,” Netanyahu said Sunday at the start of the regular Cabinet meeting.  

The fence, which will be nearly identical to the one erected on the border with Egypt, will defend the border with Syria “against both infiltration and terrorism,” Netanyahu said.

In defending the necessity of the fence’s construction, Netanyahu added, “I also submit to the Cabinet the fact that the Syrian regime is very unstable, that the question of chemical weapons here worries us, and that we are coordinating our intelligence and readiness with the U.S. and others so that we might be prepared for any scenario and possibility that could arise.”

Israel has stayed out of the deadly civil war going on in Syria, but several Syrian mortar shells have crossed into Israeli territory in recent months. Israel responded with warning shots fired into Syria. 
 
 

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