"This is similar to what the British Air Force did when it bombed the fleet of the Vichy regime, which was cooperating with the Nazis, so that it would not fall into the Nazis' hands," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
The attack on the port of Mers-el-Kebir on July 3, 1940, has gone down as either a courageous decision that saved Britain - or a treacherous and needless backstab of an ally.
The Israeli goal is to keep the now-deposed Syrian government's huge arsenal - which includes chemical weapons and ballistic missiles - from falling into the hands of rebel groups.
In that chaotic summer of 1940, the situation looked grim. The German blitzkrieg had just conquered France and Western Europe, while the cream of the British Army had barely been evacuated - minus their equipment - from Dunkirk.
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