Nervous Israel Plans Syria Border Fence

Israel is building a new security fence along the entire length of its disputed border with Syria in the Golan Heights, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced. With an election less than three weeks away, Netanyahu's Likud-Beiteinu ticket is losing votes to the far-right Jewish Home party and he is scrambling to beef up his security credentials, reports the New York Times.

Jihadists are moving in as the Syrian military abandons the frontier, so "we will defend this border against both infiltration and terrorism," Netanyahu told lawmakers. "I also submit to the Cabinet the fact that the Syrian regime is very unstable, that the question of chemical weapons here worries us." He added that Israel is working with the US and other countries to be "prepared for any scenario and possibility that could arise." (More Benjamin Netanyahu stories.)