Israel’s Def Min inspects Golan position. Al Qaeda nears Syrian chemical depot
[link to www.debka.com]

In fierce battles with Syrian troops, Al Qaeda’s al-Nusra front is spearheading the rebels’ advance on the Syrian army’s biggest chemical weapons depot at the Al-Safira military and air defense base near Aleppo in the north. By Tuesday, April 2, the assault force had come within 1.5 kilometers of its target.
This prompted an urgent visit by Israel’s top security officials to the Golan border for a close assessment of the situation.

On his first visit to the Golan border, the defense minister said that Israel had in the past and would in the future prevent the proliferation of weapons that could “threaten us.”

Yaalon was the first leading Israeli figure to state clearly that Israel would act to prevent the proliferation of Syria’s chemical weapons – whether to the al Qaeda or Hizballah terrorist organizations.

As Syrian defenses weakened, the troops fighting there and in the Damascus region were issued with anti-contamination suits and gas masks.

The minister and the generals spent time on the Golan border with Syria on final checks to make sure that the IDF units were well prepared for possible action to prevent al Qaeda procuring chemical weapons of mass destruction.