Tag Archives: Chemical Weapons

Israeli city frets about chemical depot after Hezbollah threat

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – The mayor of Haifa implored Israel’s prime minister on Tuesday to remove an industrial chemical depot from the northern city, saying a veiled threat by Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia to shell the site put as many as a million people in danger.

Israeli worries about the toxic risks posed by the four-storey ammonia vat in Haifa port were stoked by Hezbollah rocket salvoes in the 2006 Lebanon war. In 2013, Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet said the depot would shut down as part of a planned new ammonia storage and production plant in the southern Negev desert.

Lags in the plan’s implementation, and Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah’s description last week of the Haifa depot as a makeshift weapon of mass-destruction should it be attacked, prompted Mayor Yona Yahav’s call on Netanyahu to take action.

“We are alone in this battle,” Yahav told Israel’s Army Radio. “There are a million people around this depot here. It is a gaseous material. It is very, very dangerous material.”

Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond. The Environment Ministry referred Reuters to a statement it put out after Nasrallah’s threat, in which it said that by the end of next month it expected bids for construction of the Negev site.

“Currently, the main issue delaying construction of the plant is the high price of gas, since the plant needs gas to produce ammonia,” said the statement, which also acknowledged the Haifa depot was “an environmental and security risk”.

Yahav argued that it was incumbent on the Netanyahu government “to put up the money and not wait for the business sector. Health and danger are more important, the residents are 100 times more important, than any economic consideration.”

The depot belongs to Haifa Chemicals Ltd., a private company, the Haifa municipality said. The company was unavailable for comment.

A decade ago, Israel relocated a gas depot from Pi Glilot, near Tel Aviv, after a bomb set off by Palestinian militants at the site almost caused a major conflagration.

Yahav said the Pi Glilot move also freed up lucrative real estate — a motive that would not apply for the Haifa depot.

“They (government authorities) don’t really take us into account, because we are talking about a depot that is in a port and to my regret there is no great property value,” he said.

Haifa is home to many other large industrial plants including Oil Refineries, Israel’s biggest refinery.

In his Feb 16 speech, Nasrallah said Hezbollah had spared the Haifa depot in 2006 but might not do so in the future.

“We don’t have a nuclear bomb,” he said. “The intended ‘nuclear bomb’ is the combination of several rockets and the ammonia storage tanks in Haifa, the result of which would be like a nuclear bomb.”

(Writing by Dan Williams; editing by Katharine Houreld)

Heavy Clashes at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem

Muslim youths attacked Israeli police for a second day at the al-Aqsa mosque complex in East Jerusalem.

The site, considered holy by both Jews and Muslims, was raided by Israeli police after Palestinian youths attempted to attack far-right Jews who visited the complex for the Jewish New Year.

“As the police entered the compound, masked youths fled inside the mosque and threw stones at the force,” a police spokesperson said in a statement.

Nine Palestinian youths were arrested.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would be holding emergency talks on the clashes between police and Palestinians that began Sunday.

Netanyahu said in a statement he would “use any means to maintain the status quo and the rule of law on the Temple Mount”.

Police also discovered that the Palestinians were stocking up on pipe bombs and other weapons.  A cache of bombs and weapons was found near to the mosque site and is currently being forensically examined by Israeli authorities.

United Nations officials in the area called for calm saying they wanted everyone to do their share in “ensuring that visitors and worshippers demonstrate restraint and respect for the sanctity of the area”.

Pentagon Believes ISIS Used Chemical Weapons

Pentagon officials have confirmed that they are investigating reports of Islamic terrorist group ISIS using chemical weapons against Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq.

The officials were quick to emphasize that it was likely a small amount and in a weak concentration, but it still would confirm the terrorists have found at least one cache of Syrian chemical weapons.

A senior U.S. official said that after a barrage fired at a Peshmerga unit last week, there were  “wounds consistent with a blister-producing agent.”

“We continue to monitor these reports closely, and would further stress that any use of chemicals or biological material as a weapon is completely inconsistent with international standards and norms regarding such capabilities,” Alistair Baskey, spokesman for the White House’s National Security Council, said in a statement.

Peshmerga Brig. Gen. Sirwan Barzani told CNN they suspect the agent used was mustard gas because some troops also suffered breathing difficulties beyond the skin blistering.

ISIS had been previously accused by monitoring groups of using chlorine based chemical weapons against Kurdish forces.

“We continue to take these and all allegations of chemical weapons use very seriously. As in previous instances of alleged ISIL use of chemicals as weapons, we are aware of the reports and are seeking additional information. We continue to monitor these reports closely, and would further stress that use of any chemicals or biological material as a weapon is completely inconsistent with international standards and norms regarding such capabilities,” Blake Narendra, a spokesperson for the State Department’s Arms Control, Verification and Compliance Bureau, told reporters.

Mustard gas is only deadly in large quantities but can cause painful burns and blisters that could render an enemy immobile from pain.

Assad Believed To Still Have Chemical Weapons

The Wall Street Journal has reported U.S. intelligence agencies have told them the Syrian regime of Bashir al-Assad has not turned over all of their chemical weapons as agreed to in 2013.

Assad and his government had agreed to give up all their chemical weapons after a sarin nerve agent attack on a Damascus suburb.  The negative response of the international community and threats to the Syrian government appeared to make them relent of their use of chemical agents.

Inspectors told the Journal that in their visits to Syria, they were only taken to areas that the Assad government said were chemical weapons storage and/or production facilities.  The inspectors were not allowed into areas that were not designated chemical weapon locations by the Syrian government.

“Under the terms of their deployment, the inspectors had access only to sites that the Assad regime had declared were part of its chemical-weapons program. The US and other powers had the right to demand access to undeclared sites if they had evidence they were part of the chemical-weapons program. But that right was never exercised, in part, inspectors and Western officials say, because their governments didn’t want a standoff with the regime,” the report states.

“Members of the inspection team didn’t push for answers, worried that it would compromise their primary objective of getting the regime to surrender the 1,300 tons of chemicals it admitted to having,” the report stated. “The Syrians laid out the ground rules. Inspectors could visit only sites Syria had declared, and only with 48-hour notice. Anything else was off-limits, unless the regime extended an invitation.”

Now, American intelligence agencies say they believe Assad is holding a cache of nerve agents even more powerful than Sarin for use if the terrorist group ISIS makes a run at Syrian government stronghold and appear to be close to overrunning them.

The breaking of this news comes on the heels of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons saying the Syrian chemical weapons have been neutralized at sea on a U.S. Naval vessel, the Cape Ray.

However, 16 metric tons of hydrogen fluoride from the Syrian stock remains in storage at a facility in Port Arthur, Texas.

U.S. To Send More Weapons, Soldiers to NATO

Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Monday that the U.S. will send weapons, aircraft and troops as needed to NATO’s new rapid reaction force.  The force will defend Europe in the event of an aggressive move by Russia or ISIS.

President Obama made the commitment last year during a NATO summit but Carter is revealing the details of the plan.

“We do not seek a cold, let alone a hot war with Russia,” Carter said at Atlantik Brucke, a Berlin think tank that focuses on the German-U.S. relationship. “We do not seek to make Russia an enemy. But make no mistake: we will defend our allies, the rules-based international order, and the positive future it affords us. We will stand up to Russia’s actions and their attempts to re-establish a Soviet-era sphere of influence.”

The U.S. will provide intelligence and surveillance capabilities, special operations forces, transport aircraft and a range of weapons from bombers and fighters to ship-based missiles.  A large ground force is not part of the U.S. commitment.

Carter is attending his first NATO meeting as Defense Secretary and plans to bring a two-pronged approach to NATO’s needs:  the first is a strong defense against Russia in an attempt to stop them from establishing a Soviet-era influence on the region while partnering with Russia to fight Islamic terrorism.

ISIS Training British Jihadis To Carry Out Chemical Weapons Attacks

A new report says that ISIS is training terrorists in Britain via video conference to carry out chemical weapons attacks on trains and other public transportation systems.

“I am convinced that IS (another name for ISIS) fighters are all being given training in chemical weapons and the British ones, who are likely to be more educated, will all be targeted in the hope they may return home,” said Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, the retired head of chemical and biological weapons for the British Army, according to the Mail Online.

The Colonel said that because of British laws, people can obtain large amounts of chlorine without a license, so the bomb could be a chlorine weapon.

“They will have a reasonable idea on how to use chlorine and other toxic chemicals as a terror weapon,” he added.

“This could happen on a train or tube or even at a big football match. Acquiring weapons and ammunition is very difficult in the UK but you can get up to 90 tonnes of chlorine without any license.”

Chlorine can burn the lungs when present in the air in a concentrated amount.

“Chlorine is not very toxic and the green and yellow clouds are easy to see and avoid. It is very non-persistent only lasting for a few minutes. It was used in the First World War but dropped because it did not work very well,” he continued.

“It is key that ISIS don’t get the advantage of an unexpected chemical attack in the UK. If you can hold your breath for 30 seconds and run in the opposite direction you will be okay. If outside you should aim to climb or reach higher ground.”

Syria Reveals Another Hidden Chemical Weapons Lab

Syria has suddenly revealed on the eve of potential airstrikes in its country against ISIS that it has another chemical weapons laboratory.

The lab was built specifically to produce the deadly chemical ricin for chemical weapons.

Three sources told Reuters that the Syrian government admitted the location of three new facilities to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.  The revelation of the plants backs up claims from world leaders that Syria was not completely honest with OPCW and the UN regarding their chemical weapons stash and abilities.

Damascus had agreed last year to eliminate its chemical weapons program following world condemnation for an attack on Ghouta where hundreds were killed by sarin gas.

The OPCW described the incident as a “discrepancy” in the initial declaration by Syria to the organization.  Syria claims that they could never let inspectors in because of fighting between rebels and government troops.

Syria had blamed sarin attacks on rebel forces and said they never had the capability to produce the rockets needed for the weapons.

“Syria will argue that the facilities were not revealed earlier because they were in a rush when they first had to report them,” said one diplomatic source. “They had said the ricin was for medical purposes, but we don’t believe that’s true.”

The OPCW is also investigating a report that Syrian government troops have dropped chlorine “barrel” bombs this year.

Syria’s Unfilled Munitions Destroyed

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons announced Friday that all of Syria’s unfilled canisters for use in chemical weapons has been destroyed.

The announcement marks a major step in the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons abilities.

The destruction of the canisters were near the city of Homs which had been inaccessible due to fighting from the country’s civil war.

The experts from the OPCW also verified that buildings used to construct chemical weapons have been partially destroyed. The buildings will be completely razed.

The joint OPCW-UN team said they plan to remove most of toxic materials from Syria by the end of the year to meet the mid-2014 deadline for destruction of all weapons.

Syria Chemical Weapon Manufacturing Equipment Destroyed

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons announced Thursday that all the equipment in Syria that could manufacture chemical weapons has been destroyed.

The U.N. mandated deadline for the destruction of the equipment was Friday.

The inspections of all locations were determined to be completed after equipment at two sites that inspectors could not reach were confirmed to be taken to sites where the inspectors could see them destroyed.

The inspections and the destruction of equipment was part of an agreement at the UN that stopped the U.S. from striking militarily over the Syrian government’s use of chemical weapons on civilians.

Syria has until the end of June 2014 to destroy their chemical weapon stockpile.

Weapons Inspectors Kept From Chemical Weapons Sites

International chemical weapons inspectors in Syria have been stopped from investigating two sites identified by the Syrian government as chemical weapons facilities.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said that verification of the other 21 chemical weapons sites have been completed. The inability for the investigators to go into the remaining two sites means that a key deadline in the mission to eliminate all the Syrian weapons has been missed.

The OPCW said that ceasefires would be necessary for their inspectors to complete their mission. The group would not say which side of the conflict was making the weapon sites too dangerous for their inspectors.

Under the United Nations resolution that authorized the inspectors to enter Syria, all chemical weapon production facilities in the nation must be destroyed by November 1st.