- Title: ISRAEL: Military says suspected weapons shipment intercepted by Israel
- Date: 15th March 2011
- Summary: ASHDOD, ISRAEL (MARCH 15, 2011) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF OF ASHDOD PORT, WHERE SEIZED SHIP IS EXPECTED TO ARRIVE
- Embargoed: 30th March 2011 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Israel, Israel
- Country: Israel
- Topics: War / Fighting,International Relations
- Reuters ID: LVAEWINGKQWZWUEKM298PUVYA8US
- Story Text: Israeli naval commandos on Tuesday (March 15) seized a cargo ship in the Mediterranean carrying what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said were Iranian-supplied weapons intended for Palestinian gunmen in the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu said he personally approved the operation, which he told reporters was carried out "on the high seas in accordance with international law".
"The (ship's) take-over was done in the high seas in accordance with all international law and our right according to international law to stop weapons smuggled against our people. The military secretary reported to me on the operation during its implementation. The ship is en route to Ashdod now and will arrive there in a few hours. We will unload the equipment. The source of the weapons is of course Iran which continues to try and arm the terror forces acting against Israel. It is our right and duty to do all that is in our power to stop this supply," he told reporters in southern Israel.
A military spokeswoman said Israeli forces met no resistance when they intercepted the German-owned "Victoria" some 200 miles from Israel and were taking the vessel to the Israeli port of Ashdod.
"Early this morning, IDF navy fighters have stopped and went aboard a vessel. The vessel left the port of Latakia, from Syria and went through the port of Mersin, in Turkey. The final destination as we understand it was the Alexandria port in Egypt. We found aboard that vessel which we entered with compliance boarding we found containers that had included weaponry," she told Reuters Television.
"To our understanding the destination of the weapons was Gaza. We understand that Syria is behind this delivery. We understand that Iran is backing Syria in its effort, and its another effort in a very long line of efforts that have only one intention: of army Hamas inside the Gaza Strip in order to attack Israeli civilians," she added.
Israel maintains a land and naval blockade of the Gaza Strip, a coastal enclave controlled by Hamas, an Islamist movement opposed to peace with the Jewish state.
The military said the vessel had set off from the Syrian port of Latakia and stopped in Mersin, Turkey, before heading towards Alexandria in Egypt. Turkey has no involvement in the arms shipment, the military said.
Palestinians use a network of tunnels to smuggle weapons and other goods from Egypt into the Gaza Strip.
An Israeli military spokesman said an initial search turned up three containers loaded with arms and more cargo would be examined after the ship reached Israel.
Last May, there was an international outcry when Israeli naval commandos seized a Turkish ship that was part of a flotilla trying to break the Gaza blockade.
The soldiers met violent resistance from pro-Palestinian activists when they boarded the cruise vessel Mavi Marmara and killed nine of them, in an incident that strained Israel's ties with Ankara.
In 2009, about 100 miles off Israel's Mediterranean coast, Israeli commandos seized the Francop, a freighter the Israeli military said was carrying hundreds of tonnes of Iranian arms, including rockets, to Lebanon's Hezbollah group.
Nine years ago, Israeli forces intercepted the merchant ship Karine-A in the Red Sea and brought it to the Israeli port of Eilat, where the military displayed 50 tonnes of weapons, including rockets, which Israel said Iran had sent to Palestinian militants. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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