Israel suggests responsibility for Syria airstrike

“Hezbollah from Lebanon and the Iranians are the only allies that Assad has left,” Mr. Barak told the security conference. He also said that in his view, Mr. Assad’s fall “is coming imminently,” and when it happens, “this will be a major blow to the Iranians and Hezbollah.”

“I think that they will pay the price,” he said.

Syrian opposition leaders and rebels have criticized Mr. Assad for not responding to the airstrike, calling it proof of his weakness and acquiescence to the Jewish state.

Since the outbreak of the uprising against Mr. Assad 22 months ago, Israeli leaders repeatedly have expressed fears that if Syria were to disintegrate, Mr. Assad could lose control of his chemical weapons and other arms.

On Saturday night, Mr. Netanyahu, who is in the process of forming a new ruling coalition, said his new government would have to deal with weapons “being stockpiled near us and threatening our cities and civilians” — an apparent reference to the deteriorating situation in Syria.

• Josef Federman in Jerusalem and Barbara Surk in Beirut contributed to this article.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.