Military action in response to Syria's suspected use of chemical weapons would be "very, very complex", the Israeli ambassador to the United States said yesterday.
Michael Oren said air strikes on chemical weapons bases pose a risk of collateral damage to civilians if the agents are dispersed, and under international law the attacker would be at fault.
"That's why Israel is not making, urging any action by the United States in Syria, because we understand the complexity of it and we share the concerns of the United States and our neighbours," Mr Oren told a US television news show.
His words of caution came as Amir Peretz, Israel's environment minister, yesterday became the latest Israeli official to say the US should intervene in Syria over reports of the use of chemical weapons.
Barack Obama, the US president, has called the use of such weapons in Syria civil war a "red line" and a "game changer", although he has not spelt out the consequences of crossing the lines.
Mr Peretz said action should have been taken long ago due to the civilian death toll, estimated by the United Nations to be at least 70,000.
"We expect whoever defines red lines will also do what is needed, first and foremost the US and of course the entire international community,'' he said. His remarks did not reflect Israeli policy.
On Friday, the deputy foreign minister, Zev Elkin, warned the credibility of the US administration was at stake over the issue.
"There is a question here of when you set a red line, do you stand behind it?" Mr Elkin said in an interview on Israel's Army Radio, adding that the "Iranians are watching, the whole world is watching too".
Mr Oren said the US was in high-level talks with Israel and other Middle East countries about the situation.
"While we can't discuss details we are working out ways we can address this threat," Mr Oren said in Washington.
He added that removing the threat posed by Syria's chemical weapons stockpile by military force "is very, very complex".
"Even under international law, if you strike a chemical weapons base and there is collateral damage to civilians, it is as if you, the attacker, used chemical weapons," he said. "And hence we are having this very close high-level dialogue with the United States."
On Thursday, the White House said "with varying degrees of confidence" that government forces used chemical weapons during attacks last month in Aleppo and Damascus.
Israel's military on Tuesday said it had evidence of such weapons being used, citing photographs of victims and "direct" findings.
Both sides of the civil war already accuse each other of using the chemical weapons.
US politicians warned yesterday that Syria's stockpile could be a greater threat after that nation's president leaves power and could end up targeting Americans at home.
Representative Jan Schakowsky, a Democrat, said that when president Bashar Al Assad leaves power, his opponents could have access to those weapons or they could fall into the hands of US enemies.
"The day after Assad is the day that these chemical weapons could be at risk ... [and] we could be in bigger, even bigger trouble," she said.
One of Mr Obama's chief antagonists on Syria, Senator John McCain, the Republican he defeated in the 2008 presidential election, said the US should go to Syria as part of an international force to safeguard the chemical weapons. But Mr McCain added that he is not advocating sending ground troops.
In Syria, rebels seeking to topple Mr Al Assad fought intense battles yesterday with his troops to try to seize control of three military airbases in the country's north and curtail the regime's use of its punishing air power, activists said.
Rebels, who have been trying to capture the air fields for months, broke into the sprawling Abu Zuhour airbase in north-western Idlib province and Kweiras base in the Aleppo province on Saturday.
Fighting raged inside the two facilities yesterday.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least seven fighters were killed in the fighting in Abu Zuhour, in addition to an unknown number of soldiers. The group relies on reports from a network of activists on the ground.
hnaylor@thenational.ae
* Additional reporting from the Associated Press
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South Africa World Cup squad
South Africa: Faf du Plessis (c), Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock (w), JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Dale Steyn, Rassie van der Dussen.
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
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Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
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Directed by: Walt Dohrn, David Smith
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Biog
Age: 50
Known as the UAE’s strongest man
Favourite dish: “Everything and sea food”
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Cryopreservation: A timeline
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas)
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
India team for Sri Lanka series
Test squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Priyank Panchal, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubhman Gill, Rishabh Pant (wk), KS Bharath (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Sourabh Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.
T20 squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Surya Kumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Deepak Hooda, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Avesh Khan