JERUSALEM – Israel's premier pledged Sunday to build a fortified fence along the frontier with Syria, warning that radical Islamist forces have taken over the area.

Israel has largely stayed out of the civil war that has engulfed Syria and killed more than 60,000 people, but it is concerned that violence could spill over into Israel.

Israel worries that Syrian President Bashar Assad might try to draw Israel into the fighting as a distraction if his situation becomes desperate. An even greater concern is a scenario in which Assad is toppled, Islamic extremists take his place and gain control of Syria's stockpile of chemical weapons.