Local Editor

Military Intelligence Chief Major General Aviv Kochavi said that the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has escalated his political stances, noting that Syria is ready to use its chemical weapons when necessary.
Speaking to the Herzliya Conference, Kochavi stated that Iran and Hizbullah are putting their utmost efforts to protect the Assad regime, since such preserves their interests in Syria and the region.

Assad's allies, Iran and Hizbullah have flooded Syria with a militia consisting of 50,000 fighters, Kochavi noted. Further addressing the situation in Syria, Kochavi noted that the Syrian air force is carrying out 40-50 sorties a week, and that the Assad regime has fired 70 Scud and M-600 missiles so far since the conflict erupted. An additional 600 rockets with warheads carrying 250 kilograms of explosives have been fired.

Also, Kochavi said that about 200,000 missiles are aimed at "Israel" at any given time.

As the Middle East continues to convulse from destabilizing developments, "Israel", according to Kochavi, for the first time, finds itself facing four active terrorism borders: Lebanon, Syria, Sinai, and the Gaza Strip.

In 2013, Iran will continue to advance its nuclear program and will offer no major concessions during talks with the international community in the coming year, Kochavi stated. "We believe Iran will continue to develop its nuclear program, and intelligently deal with pressure from the street and the international community, the regime believes there is not a high probability for an attack on it," he continued. 

Source: "Israeli" websites, edited by moqawama.org