JERUSALEM (AFP-EJP)---The Israeli foreign ministry has recommended a complete halt to the sale of arms to Georgia for fear of spurring Russia to increase its support of Syria and Iran, an Israeli newspaper reported Sunday.
Haaretz quoted an unnamed senior official as saying that Israel would try to remain neutral as Russia and Georgia drift towards all-out war over the fate of the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
"Israel needs to be very careful and sensitive these days," the official said. "The Russians are selling many arms to Iran and Syria and there is no need to offer them an excuse to sell even more advanced weapons."
Israel considers Iran its main strategic threat because of that country's accelerating nuclear programme, and has long pushed for stronger international sanctions against Tehran.
Israel is especially concerned about the transfer of S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to Iran, which could be used to protect its nuclear installations.
The decision to halt the sale of all arms to Georgia must now go to the defence ministry, which is expected to make a decision in the coming days, Haaretz said.
Around a year ago Israel decided to limit its aid to Georgia to defensive weaponry and military advisors, and at present its aid stands at 200 million dollars (120 million euros), the newspaper said.
Israel has in the past sold aerial drones, night-vision equipment, and rockets to Georgia, and many retired officers from the Israel's military and internal security services work as military advisors there.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Arye Mekel declined to comment on the report, saying only that Israel is "closely following developments in the situation in Georgia, especially regarding the Jewish community there." Mekel said that "hundreds of Israeli tourists who are visiting Georgia are planning to return today."
Jews evacuated
There are currently around 10,000 Jews in Georgia most of whom live in the capital Tbilisi.
The Israeli press reported that at least 200 Jewish residents living near the ongoing Georgian-Russian zone of hostilities have been evacuated by the Jewish Agency to Tbilisi, mostly from the village of Gori, the birthplace of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, which borders South Ossetia.
According to the Jewish Agency, there are still four Jewish families in South Ossetia that no one has been able to contact as of yet because the communication network in the region has been badly damaged.
Russia plowed closer to all-out war with Georgia on Saturday, sending warplanes to bomb deep inside the neighboring country and preparing to move more troops into the fray over the pro-Moscow separatist republic.
Moscow brushed aside calls from the Georgian government for a cease-fire, insisting that the troops' mission was to restore calm to South Ossetia and prevent Georgia from retaking control of the region.
''This is 100 percent, unprovoked brutal Russian invasion. This is about annihilation of a democracy on their borders,'' Georgia President Mikhail Saakashvili said. ''We on our own cannot fight with Russia. We want immediate cease-fire, immediate cessation of hostilities, separation of Russia and Georgia and international mediation.''
British Defense Secretary Des Browne said a combined delegation of EU, US and NATO officials are travelling to Georgia to seek to broker a ceasefire.
More than 1,500 people have died in fighting in South Ossetia and Georgia since the outbreak of hostilities.