ISRAEL: Damascus has denied claims by the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, that Baghdad may have hidden chemical and biological arms in Syria to evade detection by UN inspectors combing Iraq for banned weaponry . "This accusation against Syria is ridiculous because Syria signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty, and called upon all Arab states to make the Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction whether nuclear, chemical or biological weapons," a foreign ministry spokesman said on Christmas day.
The spokesman said Mr Sharon's claim was "untrue and aims, at the same time, to divert attention from the nuclear, chemical and biological arsenal that Israel possesses.
"Israel, through its arsenal of weapons of mass destruction represents dangers not only to the Palestinians, Syria and Lebanon but to the whole region as well as to international peace and stability."
Israel has refused to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty and has never admitted to developing nuclear weapons. A Syrian source claimed Israel had doubled its arsenal of nuclear devices from 200 to 400 since it signed its peace treaty with Egypt in 1979.
Mr Sharon said in a television interview on Tuesday that Israel had received information that Iraq had transferred banned weapons to Syria. He admitted, however, that the reports have not been fully verified.
"We have some information to that effect. We are now working to confirm the information," he asserted.
