JERUSALEM (EJP)—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strongly supported US President Donald Trump in his decision to carry out strikes against Syrian forces following the use of chemical weapons.
He said the air strikes ‘’sent a strong and clear message in words and actions today that the use and spread of chemical weapons will not be tolerated”.
President Reuven Rivlin echoed Netanyahu' statement calling the US airstrike a "fitting and appropriate response" to the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
"In acting as it has, the United States serves as an example to the entire free world, which must support any step required to bring the atrocities in Syria to an end," Rivlin added.
Yisrael Katz, the intelligence minister and a member of the Cabinet’s defense forum, spoke Friday with Army Radio about the U.S. strike the previous night in which dozens of guided missiles were launched at an army base of forces loyal to President Bashar Assad. Earlier this week, his military was accused of using chemical weapons in attacking rebel-held areas.
“There are things that only the No. 1 superpower in the world can do,” Katz said. “In contrast to the failed policy of leading from behind, which led to Iran’s entrenchment, the United States has restored America’s regional leadership in a big way in the Middle East.”
Trump said the strike was a direct response to the chemical weapons attack that has killed more than 70 people.
He said: “Tonight I ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in Syria from where the chemical attack was launched. [President Bashar] Assad choked out the lives of helpless men, women and children… no child of God should ever suffer such horror.”
Trump also appealed to the international community to “join us in seeking to end the slaughter and bloodshed in Syria and also to end terrorism of all kinds and all types”.
A senior Israeli Cabinet minister said it “restored America’s regional leadership in a big way.”
Yisrael Katz, the Intelligence Minister and a member of the Cabinet’s defense forum, told the Army Radio: ‘’There are things that only the No. 1 superpower in the world can do. In contrast to the failed policy of leading from behind, which led to Iran’s entrenchment, the United States has restored America’s regional leadership in a big way in the Middle East.”
The Israeli Prime Minister and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke over the chemical weapons attack in Syria.
According to a statement from the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a telephone conversation that it was unacceptable to make “unfounded” accusations concerning the alleged chemical weapons attack that took place in Syria.
The statement from the Russian government added that both sides “expressed readiness to expand cooperation in the interest of assuring stability and security in the Middle East”.
The rebuttal was a response to Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s suggestion that Syrian planes carried out the two chemical attacks, which were “directly ordered and planned by Syrian President Bashar Assad”.
Netanyahu, who severely condemned the usage of chemical weapons against innocent civilians in a statement on Tuesday, refrained from pointing the finger at the Syrian President, possibly to avoid displeasing Putin.
Moscow has sought to deflect blame from its Syrian ally over the attack and says Syrian jets struck a rebel arms depot where “toxic substances” were being put inside bombs.