JERUSALEM/WEST BANK: ISRAELI AND PALESTINIAN OFFICIALS ARE EXCHANGING BITTER RECRIMINATION OVER A WEAPONS CACHE SEIZED BY ISRAEL ON A SHIP

Record ID: 400458

  • Title: JERUSALEM/WEST BANK: ISRAELI AND PALESTINIAN OFFICIALS ARE EXCHANGING BITTER RECRIMINATION OVER A WEAPONS CACHE SEIZED BY ISRAEL ON A SHIP
  • Date: 7th January 2002
  • Summary: (U4) JERUSALEM (JANUARY 8, 2002) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. SV ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER ARIEL SHARON MEETING AMERICAN JEWISH LEADERS IN JERUSALEM 0.13 2. SV AUDIENCE 0.15 3. MCU (English) ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER ARIEL SHARON: "Navy fighters to cover a ship carrying 50 tonnes of weapons designated for the Palestinian Authority. This ship of terr
  • Embargoed: 22nd January 2002 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: JERUSALEM/ RAMALLAH, WEST BANK
  • City:
  • Country: Palestinian Territories
  • Reuters ID: LVAE9C7WXK8L64AEPLNHFO97KLAT
  • Story Text: Israeli and Palestinian officials are exchanging
    bitter recriminations over a weapons cache seized by Israel on
    a ship it says was smuggling for Palestinian President Yasser
    Arafat.



    Israel said on Tuesday (January 8) it would release
    documents later this week proving Palestinian President Yasser
    Arafat was directly responsible for a weapons cache seized on
    a captured ship.

    Israeli-Palestinian recriminations over the issue have
    dealt a blow to U.S.-European peace efforts to build on the
    relative calm that has prevailed since mid-December.

    Israel said commandos found 50 tonnes of mostly
    Iranian-supplied weapons when they seized the ship in the Red
    Sea on Thursday. It said the arms, valued at more than 100
    million United States dollars, were destined for the
    Palestinian-ruled Gaza Strip.

    Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has accused Arafat of
    ordering the arms purchase, but Palestinian officials say
    Israel contrived the incident to undermine a U.S. mission
    aimed at ending more than 15 months of bloodshed.

    At a news conference in Jerusalem Sharon told an audience
    of American Jewish leaders:
    "This ship of terror, on its way to the Gaza shores, was
    carrying the type of weapons and ammunitions that could
    threaten the lives of each and every citizen of Israel."
    "These would have exchanged the strategic balance putting
    Israel in an impossible situation, where all of Israel becomes
    hostage to Arafat terror strategy," he said.

    Israeli officials said they had documents proving Arafat's
    involvement in arranging the shipment, which included
    long-range Katyusha rockets, but gave few details of what was
    in the documents.

    Following Arafat's meeting with European Union foreign
    policy chief Javier Solana on Monday evening in the West Bank
    city of Ramallah, the Palestinian leader announced an official
    inquiry into Israel's allegations.

    Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo said on
    Tuesday the investigation would be conducted by a team of
    generals.

    "We still insist that the Palestinian Authority is not
    involved in this incident and the Palestinian authority is not
    interested in and does not want any form of escalation in the
    situation. The Palestinian Authority insists that its not a
    Palestinian option to lead the confrontation towards a
    military one between the two sides," Rabbo said at a news
    conference in Ramallah.

    "The primary investigations we made in the past two days
    had shown that there are channels of smuggling coming
    basically from Israel. Weapons, ammunition and drugs and
    others. We will show the press Israeli-made mortars and
    Israeli weapons that were smuggled from Israel to the
    Palestinian authority," he said.
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