Israel Won’t Allow Weapons Production in Lebanon, Netanyahu Warns

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel will prevent weapons from being manufacted in Lebanon and will bar arms from being transported from Syria to Lebanon. Netanyahu added that Israel is acting to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Netanyahu’s remarks come after a reported Israeli strike from Lebanese airspace Thursday night on a Hezbollah target in Syria. According to a Syrian war-monitoring group, suspected Israeli strikes hit a military base housing Hezbollah forces and other factions allied with the Assad regime.

“All of these weapons are for use against the State of Israel and it is our right – based on the right of self-defense – to prevent their manufacture or transfer,” Netanyahu said at the beginning of the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.

Netanyahu said he spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over the weekend and expressed his appreciation for the determined stance the American administration shows against the nuclear agreement with Iran and against Iranian aggression in the region.