RT says Syrian rebels plan chem attack on Israel from Assad-controlled territories: situation dangerous, volatile

September 10, 2013 – SYRIA – A chemical attack may be launched on Israel by Syrian rebels from government-controlled territories as a “major provocation,” multiple sources told RT. The report comes as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov proposed that Syria puts its chemical weapons arsenal under international control for subsequent destruction in order to prevent a possible military strike against the war-torn country.  Moscow also urged Syrian authorities to join the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The offer has already been passed over to Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem, who met Lavrov in Moscow for talks on Monday. “We don’t know if Syria will accept the offer, but if imposing international control over chemical weapons stored in the country can help to avoid military strikes, we are immediately going to start working with Damascus,” Lavrov said. The Syrian Foreign Ministry has welcomed Moscow’s initiative, “based on the Syrian’s government care about the lives of our people and security of our country,” Muallem said later on Monday. Meanwhile, US National Security Adviser Susan Rice made a statement saying that Damascus’ alleged “use of chemical weapons against its own people” posed a threat to US national security. “The use of chemical weapons also directly threatens our closest ally in the region, Israel,” she said, speaking at the New America Foundation in Washington. –RT

Israeli PM cancels trip to Italy: The ongoing Syrian crisis has compelled Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to cancel a planned trip to Italy this week, government sources confirmed Monday. A few weeks ago Netanyahu planned a trip to Rome where he was to meet Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta and US Secretary of State John Kerry, who had planned to be there at the same time. Kerry met Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in London on Monday. Netanyahu shelved the Italy trip, the sources said, because he felt “that he needed to be here” at this time. Over the last few days Netanyahu has spent a great deal of time in what officials in his office call “security consultations,” either meetings with the seven-man security cabinet, or high-level security briefings. He has not spent much time during this period at public events. Indeed, Netanyahu did not give a single Rosh Hashana interview this year, something traditionally done by prime ministers. One possible reason for this, beyond severe time constraints as a result of monitoring the Syrian situation, is so that he would not have to answer any questions about Syria or the possibility of a US attack. Netanyahu has been careful to say almost nothing about the Syrian situation – beyond that Israel is not involved but would respond severely if attacked – over the last two weeks. He has also directed his ministers not to comment on the matter, something that for the most part they have upheld. –Jerusalem Post

UN plan to seize chemical weapons: U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is urging Syria to immediately agree to transfer chemical weapons and chemical precursors to a safe place within the country for international destruction. Ban said Monday he will also propose to the Security Council that it unite and demand an immediate chemical weapons transfer should U.N. inspectors conclude that such weapons were used in an attack Aug. 21 in a suburb of Damascus. He said he is also considering asking the council to demand accountability for an alleged chemical weapons attack. Ban spoke shortly after Moscow’s surprise announcement that it was pressing its ally Syria on a similar proposal — to move its chemical weapons to areas under international control to avoid a U.S. military strike. –ABC News