Netanyahu met Jordan king to discuss Syria chemical arms: Israel media

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has secretly met Jordan's King Abdullah in Amman to discuss the risk of Syria's chemical weapons falling into the hands of Islamist militants, Israeli media reports said on Wednesday.

Two TV stations and Israeli news sites quoted unnamed Israeli officials confirming a report in the London-based Arabic language daily, Al-Quds Al-Arabi, that such a meeting had been held, even as Netanyahu's spokesmen declined comment on the report.

As Syria's southern neighbour, Israel has been concerned about the risk of President Bashar al-Assad's chemical weapons falling into the hands of Islamist militants or Lebanese Hezbollah fighters as an uprising against him convulses a country thought to possess a formidable chemical arsenal. Israel has warned it could intervene if it felt there was a real risk of such a scenario unfolding.

Israel's Channel 2 said the latest talks included a "very long discussion" about "cooperation with Jordan with regard to the fate of Syria's chemical weapons". It did not elaborate.

Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli vice-prime minister Moshe Yaalon dismissed reports of Syrian government forces having fired chemical agents at rebels fighting to topple the Assad government.

"As things stand now, we do not have any confirmation or proof that (chemical weapons) have already been used, but we are definitely following events with concern," Yaalon said on Israel's Army Radio.