JERUSALEM, June 13 (UPI) -- Israel fears Hezbollah may try to move sophisticated weapons from Syria to Lebanon if President Bashar Assad is ousted, officials said.
Israel's defense establishment is concerned with recent reports Assad has lost control of some military equipment and a number of Scud D missiles Damascus allocated to Hezbollah two years ago and stored in Syria may be transferred to Lebanon, The Jerusalem Post said.
The concern comes as the Israeli air force prepares to receive new Arrow 3 missile interceptors equipped with improved software to intercept Scuds and long range ballistic missiles, the newspaper said.
The Defense Ministry plans to test the upgraded Arrow 3 missile defense system in coming months.
Israeli defense officials fear Hezbollah may try to move the missiles to Lebanon to prevent them from falling into rebel hands, the Post said.
If this occurs, Israel will have to decide whether to ignore such a transfer to prevent the situation from escalating into a war with Syria and Hezbollah or act to prevent the transfer, the paper said.
An Israeli strike in Syria could provide Assad with the opportunity to use Israel as a scapegoat to divert attention from the internal strife, the paper said.
