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Israel to build fence along Syrian border amid fears of violent spillover
By Holly Yan and Samira Said, CNN
January 7, 2013 -- Updated 2048 GMT (0448 HKT)
Israel to build fence along Syria border
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- "We will defend this border against both infiltration and terrorism," Netanyahu says
- The Israeli prime minister says the Syrian government is "very unstable"
- He also expressed concerns about the possible use of chemical weapons
- Turkey and Jordan have already seen Syrian violence crossing over borders
(CNN) -- As regional fears of a spillover from
Syria's civil war increase, Israel plans to build a fence along the
border with the embattled country.
The announcement came
Sunday during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's weekly Cabinet
address, in which he cited the construction of a 230-kilometer
(143-mile) fence along Israel's southern border with Egypt.
"We intend to erect an
identical fence, with a few changes based on the actual territory, along
the Golan Heights. We know that on (the) other side of our border with
Syria today, the Syrian army has moved away, and in its place, global
jihad forces have moved in,"
Netanyahu said, according to a transcript of his remarks.
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"Therefore, we will
defend this border against both infiltration and terrorism, just as we
are successfully doing on the Sinai border."
Syrian opposition and
government sources have reported that the extremist al-Nusra Front,
which the United States has designated as a terrorist group with links
to al Qaeda in Iraq, has taken part in some of the fighting in Syria.
Netanyahu also said the Syrian government is "very unstable" and expressed concerns about the possible use of chemical weapons.
Israel seized the Golan
Heights, along with the West Bank, Gaza and the Sinai Peninsula, during
the 1967 war. The Sinai has since been returned to Egypt.
Israel annexed the Golan
Heights in 1981, a move not recognized by the international community
and condemned by Syria, which still claims the land.
Chaos from Syria's civil war has already spilled into Turkey and Jordan.
Last month, shells and
bullets landed in Jordanian territory because of fighting between
government and rebel forces in western Syria. One Jordanian soldier was
wounded, Jordan's armed forces said.
And last week, U.S.
troops started arriving near the Turkish-Syrian border to man Patriot
missile defense batteries, which are intended to intercept any Scud
missiles that might cross into Turkey from Syria. The move was made
after Syria launched Scud missiles at cities near the Turkish border.
The batteries began arriving Monday, video showed.
"The deployment, which
will take place over the next few weeks, will be defensive only," NATO
stressed in a statement Monday. "It will not support a no-fly zone or
any offensive operation. Its aim is to deter any threats to Turkey, to
defend Turkey's population and territory and to de-escalate the crisis
on NATO's southeastern border."
In October, five Turkish civilians were killed when errant Syrian artillery shells struck the Turkish border town of Akcakale.
The Syrian government: Talk of reform leads to heavy skepticism
Syria's prime minister
called Monday for Cabinet members to convene and decide how to implement
measures announced by President Bashar al-Assad, state-run TV reported
Monday.
No date was announced for the meeting.
In his first public speech since June,
al-Assad outlined a plan
Sunday to resolve the Syrian crisis. His plan includes national
dialogue and a new constitution that would be put up for a public
referendum.
But there's a major
caveat to the plan: Al-Assad said he refuses to deal with "terrorists," a
term the government often uses to describe the opposition.
Similarly, opposition
members have said they will not work directly with al-Assad's "criminal"
government, nor will they accept any solution that doesn't involve
al-Assad's departure.
So the deadly impasse continues.
World leaders slammed al-Assad's speech, with British Foreign Secretary William Hague calling it "beyond hypocritical."
"Deaths, violence and oppression engulfing #Syria are his own making, empty promises of reform fool no one,"
Hague tweeted.
U.N. Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon said Monday that he was "disappointed" by the speech, saying
"it does not contribute to a solution that could end the terrible
suffering of the Syrian people."
At least 67 people,
including seven children, were killed Monday in fresh violence, the
opposition Local Coordination Committees said. More than 60,000 Syrians
have been killed in the past 22 months, according to the United Nations.
The chaos started in March 2011, when peaceful anti-government
protesters were met by a fierce government crackdown, which spiraled
into an armed opposition movement and a civil war.
Al-Assad's family has ruled Syria for more than 40 years.
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