An Israeli official said this week that his country found evidence that the Syrian regime repeatedly used chemical weapons last month, arguing that President Bashar al-Assad was testing how the United States and others would react and that it was time for Washington to overcome its deep reluctance to intervene in the Syrian civil war.
The head of research and analysis in Israeli military intelligence, Brig. Gen. Itai Brun, told participants at a security conference in Tel Aviv that the Syrian government “has increasingly used chemical weapons.”
He cited images of people hurt, but gave no indication he had other evidence, such as soil samples, typically used to verify chemical weapons use.
"To the best of our professional understanding, the regime used lethal chemical weapons against the militants in a series of incidents over the past months, including the relatively famous incident of March 19," Brun said. "Shrunken pupils, foaming at the mouth and other signs indicate, in our view, that lethal chemical weapons were used."
The statement echoed accusations that Britain and France made in a letter last week to the United Nations Secretary General of the United Nations, calling for a deeper investigation.
“The very fact that they have used chemical weapons without any appropriate reaction,” General Brun said, “is a very worrying development, because it might signal that this is legitimate.”
In Washington, Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, said when pressed on the Israeli assessment, “We are looking for conclusive evidence, if it exists, if there was use of chemical weapons."
US Secretary of State John Kerry suggested there were mixed messages emerging from Israel, saying that he spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday morning and that the Israeli leader “was not in a position to confirm” the intelligence assessment.
US Ambassador to Israel Daniel B. Shapiro, said that contingency plans to address the use of chemical weapons in Syria were “very much part” of the discussions held in Jerusalem earlier this week by US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel with his Israeli counterpart Moshe Yaalon.
During a meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers in Brussels, John Kerry urged that members of the alliance be ready to respond if it was determined that Syria had in fact used chemical weapons.
"We should also carefully and collectively consider how NATO is prepared to respond to protect its members from a Syrian threat, including any potential chemical weapons threat."
But after his phone call with Benjamin Netanyahu he told reporters, “I don’t know yet what the facts are,” adding, “I don’t think anybody knows what they are.”
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the alliance is "extremely concerned about the use of ballistic missiles in Syria and the possible use of chemical weapons." However, he also noted that NATO has not been asked to intervene.
"There is no call for NATO to play a role, but if these challenges remain unaddressed they could directly affect our own security," he said. "So we will continue to remain extremely vigilant."