Prime Minister Netanayhu at his government's weekly cabinet meeting. Photo: Screenshot.

Despite tensions in the region, “Israel is calm and self-assured,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said before the start of his weekly Cabinet meeting Sunday.

“Israeli citizens know very well that we are prepared for any possible scenario. Israeli citizens must also know that our enemies have very good reasons not to test our strength – they know why,” he said.

The prospect of a U.S. military response to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad has been debated publicly in recent days, with U.S. President Barack Obama calling on Congress Sunday to support a strike on the war-torn country. Damascus and its backers in Tehran have promised to retaliate against Israel and U.S. interests in the region were a strike to happen.

However, despite precautionary measures taken by Israel that at times have given the sense of an imminent attack on the Jewish state, Israeli officials have mostly dismissed the prospect of a retaliatory response against the country.