A Israeli naval vessel off Beirut- Photo By Yaakov Katz
Posted on 08/20/2006 11:57:10 PM PDT by garbageseeker
Despite claims of a mounting humanitarian crisis in Lebanon, the navy is under orders to maintain a sea blockade until a multinational force completes its deployment in the south, a high-ranking naval officer told The Jerusalem Post Sunday.
The officer said the blockade could continue for another "several months" pending a decision by the diplomatic echelon and was in place with the goal of preventing transfer of arms to Hizbullah. Defense Minister Amir Peretz said Sunday that Israel would continue to use all the means at its disposal to thwart attempts to smuggle weapons to Hizbullah.
"We plan to insist that issues such as the transfer of weapons from Syria to Lebanon be under supervision and that such transfers are thwarted," Peretz said before a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul in Jerusalem.
"We will ensure that Hizbullah not be in a position to control southern Lebanon," Peretz added. He asked Gul to assist in preventing the transfer of weapons to Hizbullah by enforcing restrictions on planes carrying arms and flying over Turkey.
On Friday night, IDF commandos operated deep in Lebanon in the Bekaa Valley and thwarted an attempt to transfer weapons to Lebanon from Syria, the army said.
"I will not allow Hizbullah to return to the way it was before the war," Peretz said.
The sea blockade, the naval officer said, was successful and had achieved its goals. "The blockade was effective," he said. "The Lebanese economy is paralyzed and that was our goal."
The officer said the sea blockade inflicted heavy damage to the Lebanese economy and succeeded in pressuring the government to begin taking control of southern Lebanon. The Lebanese army has already deployed 1,500 soldiers in the south, backed up by tanks and additional armored vehicles.
(Excerpt) Read more at jpost.com ...
I did not know that. Thanks.
By the way, did they ever get to repair that damaged warship?
I am pretty sure they learned the lesson. The might have some countermeasures on board. They are probably reparing the warship. That was a nice size hole.
How long will it take for the MSM to
attack this as a violation of the U.N.
resolution #!55263754758568.
Forget-about-it. Forget Lebanon's army enablers of Hezbollah Be relentless against these terrorist!
High volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel. also
2006israelwar or WOT
..................
Maybe this is why my son's ship is heading over there.
Excellent stop the flow of weapons to Beruit from Iranian ships.
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