 | | | Naval commandos boarded the ship and the vessel was taken to an Israeli port (File) |
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (Agencies) Israeli naval commandos have boarded a ship carrying Iranian-supplied rockets destined for Lebanon's Hezbollah group and taken the vessel to an Israeli port, the government said on Wednesday.
Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai told Army Radio that Katyusha rockets were found on the Antigua-flagged Francop, which the military said was intercepted overnight in the Mediterranean Sea, 100 miles (160 km) from Israel. It was brought to Ashdod, south of Tel Aviv.
"Stopping the Iranian weapons ship was an important achievement for the Israel Defence Forces and the state of Israel," President Shimon Peres said in a statement.
" Stopping the Iranian weapons ship was an important achievement for the Israel Defence Forces and the state of Israel " President Shimon Peres The 8,622 deadweight ton ship was due to have arrived on Nov. 1 at the Egyptian port of Damietta and was last seen on Oct. 31 in the Mediterranean sea between Lebanon and Cyprus, according to AISLive ship tracking data on Reuters.
The vessel is owned by German shipping company Reederei Gerd Bartels, based near the port of Hamburg. Asked to comment, Mirko Bartels of the private shipping firm told Reuters: "We have nothing to say."
An official with Cyprus-based United Feeder Services told Reuters it had acted as the time charterer and carrier for the Francop, tasked with loading and discharging the vessel. |  | Long range firepower " The vessel sailed from Damietta, and was bound for Limassol, Cyprus and then Lebanon, Turkey and back to Damietta " Unnamed official "The vessel sailed from Damietta, and was bound for Limassol, Cyprus and then Lebanon, Turkey and back to Damietta," the official, who declined to be named, said.
Military sources said naval commandos seized the 137-metre (450-ft)-long vessel in international waters.
Asked if the weaponry on the ship had been earmarked for Hezbollah, Vilnai said: "Yes. It strengthens (the group) and improves its long-range firing capability into Israel."
He did not give any quantities, saying the vessel was still being unloaded in Israel and voicing doubt as to whether its crew knew munitions were on aboard. Army Radio said anti-tank missiles were also found.
Iranian-backed Hezbollah launched more than 4,000 rockets into Israel during a 2006 war and Israeli officials have said the group has rearmed since the 34-day conflict.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that weapons discovered on the vessel could have been used to attack Israeli cities.
But in public comments on the incident, Israeli leaders gave no hint they were contemplating military action against Hezbollah in response to the alleged weapons smuggling attempt. The Israeli-Lebanese frontier has been largely quiet since 2006. | | Rocket capable of reaching Tel Aviv " This is a pre-emptive step by the Zionist enemy to influence international opinion " Fawzi Barhum Israel has long accused arch-foes Syria and Iran of supplying weapons to Hezbollah and to Palestinian fighters in the Gaza Strip, which has been ruled by the Islamist Hamas movement since June 2007.
On Tuesday a senior Israeli general warned that Hamas had successfully test-fired a rocket out to sea capable of reaching Tel Aviv from Gaza.
The rocket, believed to be Iranian-made, has a range of about 60 kilometers (37 miles), putting Israel's major population centers in range, said Major General Amos Yadlin, head of military intelligence.
Hamas called the claim a "fabrication" designed to mobilize world opinion against the Islamist group.
"This is a pre-emptive step by the Zionist enemy to influence international opinion," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum said.
Israel has in the past seized shipments of weapons allegedly bound for Gaza, including in May 2003, when it intercepted a ship off its northern coast loaded with bomb-making material it said was from Hezbollah.
The largest weapons-smuggling ship intercepted by the Israeli navy was the Karine-A, a freighter boarded in 2002 while carrying tons of weapons that Israel said Iran had sent to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
In May 2001, the navy intercepted the Santorini, which was packed with 40 tons of anti-aircraft missiles, Katyusha rockets, anti-tank grenades, mortar shells and automatic weapons, and was bound for Gaza.
Israel said the shipment was sent by Ahmad Jibril's Damascus-based PLO offshoot, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General Command. |
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