FOXNews.com: MIXED MESSAGES: US, Israel Diverge on Syria Chemical Weapons Use

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MIXED MESSAGES: US, Israel Diverge on Syria Chemical Weapons Use Mar 20th 2013, 18:42 The Obama administration repeated Wednesday that U.S. officials have no credible evidence that chemical weapons are being used in the Syrian civil war, despite a claim by a senior Israeli official that it's "apparently clear" they were used. The conflicting assessments come after Syrian rebels and Syrian President Assad's regime traded accusations that chemical weapons were used -- the issue is sure to come up as President Obama embarks on a two-day tour through Israel. Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plan to speak at a press conference shortly after 2 p.m. ET. Any confirmation that the Assad regime used the weapons would put pressure on the Obama administration to follow through on warnings that such an act would constitute crossing a "red line."  After administration officials repeatedly claimed Tuesday they have no evidence to back up the chemical weapons claims, U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford said the same during testimony on Capitol Hill Wednesday.  "So far we have no evidence to substantiate those reports," Ford told Congress. "I want to underline that we are looking very carefully."   His comments before the House Foreign Affairs Committee were made within hours of Yuval Steinitz, Israel's new minister of intelligence and strategic affairs, saying in an interview the weapons were used. However, he would not say how he reached the conclusion or which side used them. There have been many reports and rumors of such weapons being used throughout the war but no attack has yet been confirmed The rebellion against Assad and conflicting reports of escalated fighting comes as Obama arrives in the Middle East to talk with the leaders in Israel and Jordan, with the Syrian crisis expected to be a major topic. Israel has repeatedly expressed concern that Syria's chemical arsenal could fall into the hands of anti-Israel militants like Lebanon's Hezbollah, an Assad ally, or an Al Qaeda-linked group fighting with the rebels. Steinitz said that after Iran's nuclear program, the fate of Syria's chemical weapons is the second most urgent issue that will be discussed with Obama during his 48-hour visit. "It is apparently clear that chemical weapons were used," he said. "The fact they apparently used chemical weapons against civilians needs to worry us and shows the urgency of taking care of the issue." More than 70,000 civilians have been killed in the attempt to overthrow Assad, and an estimated 1 billion others have fled to neighboring countries, including roughly 450,000 to Jordan. Ford also testified that the U.S. continues to provide hundreds of millions of dollars in humanitarian aid. However, the administration maintains a policy of trying to negotiate a peace settlement and not providing weapons to opposition forces. He also declined to answer questions about what would be the consequence should U.S. officials find Syria crossed a "red line" by using chemical weapons. Obama has declared the use, deployment or transfer of the weapons would be a red line for possible U.S. military intervention. "I am certain they have been discussed but I don't want to speculate," Ford said. "I don't want to go there." The Syrian state-run SANA news agency said Tuesday "a missile containing a chemical substance" was fired at the village by "terrorists" -- the term it uses for rebels. Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faysal Mekdad said 31 people were killed. SANA added that more than 100 others were wounded, some of them critically, and it published pictures showing casualties, including children, on stretchers in what appears to be a hospital ward. None showed signs of physical injuries. The rebels quickly denied using chemical weapons and accused government forces of doing so. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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