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Why would Israel attack Syria?

As the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad nears its third year, concern has been expressed about the possibility of widespread chaos resulting in the loss of control - or deliberate dissemination - of weapons of mass destruction, such as chemical arms Damascus is said to possess. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reported to have threatened to take action in the event of a loss of control by Mr Assad. Israeli military intelligence is thought to be monitoring the area via satellite for any movement of weapons outside Syria's borders. Israel fears that Syria may unravel in such a way as to seek to destabilise the entire region.

Of particular concern in Israel is Damascus's support for Lebanon's Hezbollah. Israeli officials believe that Hezbollah's arsenal has improved to include thousands of rockets and missiles and the ability to strike almost anywhere inside Israel. A former Israeli intelligence official, Amnon Sofrin, says Hezbollah is known to have been storing some of its more advanced weapons in Syria and will seek to move everything it can into Lebanon. "As soon as these weapons reach Lebanon, they are swallowed up in secret underground stockpiles. Looking for them will be like searching for a needle in a haystack," Israeli defence analyst Alex Fishman said in the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper. "If chemical weapons are brought into Lebanon, Israel will probably not hesitate - and will attack," Mr Fishman said. Israeli Home Front Defence Minister Avi Dichter said on Tuesday that options to prevent Syria from using or transferring the weapons included deterrence and "attempts to hit the stockpiles".

Rome, Italy, Jan 29, 2013 / 01:15 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict XVI is having his message for this year's World Day of the Sick published in Arabic for the very first time."The Holy Father probably wants to transmit a message on this day to the Syrian people because it's the first time that his message will be published in Arabic," said Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, president of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers. The Pope's message, drafted in several languages, is centered on the Good Samaritan. It is titled "Go and you, too, do the same," and was released at a Jan. 29 press conference in Rome.

The World Day of the Sick is observed annually on Feb. 11 for the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, and this year it will be held at the Marian shrine of Altötting in Bavaria, Germany. "The World Day of the Sick was created by Blessed John Paul II 20 years ago," explained Archbishop Zimowski.

"Pope John Paul II, a suffering man among the suffering, wanted for suffering to be seen close to Jesus Christ, who suffered for us for our salvation," the archbishop reflected. "He wanted that God's people become more sensitive to the sick and the suffering and that those suffering find a deeper meaning to their suffering," he added.

Archbishop Zimowski noted that John Paul II wrote about the Good Samaritan and he taught that “doing good to those who suffer is doing good from one's own suffering.”