Posted on 01/06/2002 8:27:37 PM PST by Nachum
In less than eight minutes, the operation was over. Israeli naval commandos slid down ropes from air force helicopters and simultaneously climbed up the sides onto a PLO freighter carrying 50 tons of arms and overtook the vessel by complete surprise, without firing a shot. Today at 5:00 PM, the Prime Minister, along with other government and military officials, will display the contents of the ship to foreign diplomats and the press.
The operation, code-named “Noah’s Ark,” was carried out early Thursday morning about 500 kilometers (300 miles) south of Israel in the Red Sea. The planning of the operation was overseen by IDF Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz, who also personally commanded it from an aircraft above. The ship, named Karin A, was headed for Gaza via the Suez canal. Navy forces escorted the freighter into the Israeli, Red Sea port of Eilat, arriving Friday night.
Military sources said that most of the weapons on board came from Iran and were packaged in 83 cases coated for sea-smuggling purposes. The special waterproof containers are manufactured exclusively in Iraq and can be configured to float at various distances below the ocean surface. Included in the shipment were the following: 107mm and 122mm katyusha rockets (capable of reaching major Israeli cities), 120mm mortars, Sager and LAW anti-tank missiles, explosives, anti-tank mines, scuba gear, AK-47 assault rifles, and more. The vessel was manned by 13 PLO personnel and at least one person identified with the Lebanese Hizbullah. The captain of the vessel was a senior officer in the PLO navy.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. General Shaul Mofaz revealed the details of the mission at a Friday afternoon press conference. In his speech, Mofaz thanked the “naval commando warriors” who carried out the mission and said, “If military equipment of this kind had reached the hands of terrorists acting against us, it would have dramatically altered the security of the citizens of the State of Israel and the soldiers of the IDF, and drastically increased the terror activity against us.” Other notable quotes from Mofaz’s speech:
“The smuggling attempt emphasizes, and points directly at the PA's intentions to continue a strategy of terror and violence, increasing and escalating over time.”
“The PA is drenched from head to toe with terror and doesn't understand that in a world after the horrible events of Sept. 11, they cannot achieve their goals through the use of violence and terror.”
“This mission is another milestone in our effort to dry the swamp of terror, which exists in the heart of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip. It undoubtedly saved many lives.”
He also said that the smuggling attempt was in direct violation of all existing agreements between Israel and the PLO. Arab leaders in Yesha adamantly denied that the weapons were intended for them and instead claimed that they were headed for Hizbullah. But Mofaz said, “The link between the staff aboard the ship and the PLO and its leaders is, without a doubt, clear and undeniable.” Israel Television military correspondent Ron Ben Yishai reported on Saturday night that Omar Akawi, the ship’s captain, admitted during his interrogation that the PLO was the intended recipient of the arms.
During the interrogation of the captured crew members, it was learned that the PLO purchased the arms for $15 million. The ship cost $400,000. At the opening of today's cabinet session, Prime Minister Sharon said that Arafat is behind the ongoing terrorism, and that it is clear beyond all doubt that the Karin A arms-smuggling ship was dispatched at Arafat's initiative and with his budget approval.
In a similar incident, on May 6, 2001, the Israeli Navy intercepted a vessel laden with heavy weapons headed for the Gaza coast from Lebanon. The shipment contained anti-aircraft missiles, anti-tank missile launchers, rocket-propelled grenades, and mortar shells in addition to other arms. Terrorist leader Ahmed Jibril’s Popular Front had tried to send the shipment to Arafat in order to assist the PLO in carrying out further attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers. Although the PLO denied any connection to the shipment, as they did in this week’s incident, Israeli sources dismissed those claims and said that without doubt the PLO helped organize the illegal operation.
The PLO mission to smuggle illegal arms into Israel began in October 2000. According to an IDF report, the head of the PLO weapons purchasing unit, Addal Mugrabi, made contacts with Iranian and Hizbullah factions in October 2000 regarding a vast weapons-smuggling operation. Mugrabi carried out the project with the assistance of PLO Naval Police Commander Juma’a Rali and his executive Fatchi Razam.
Mugrabi purchased the Karin A in Lebanon and in December 2001 the ship sailed to the beaches of Iran near the Keish Islands. There, a ferry approached the ship carrying the 83 waterproof, floatable crates containing the weapons. The crates were then transferred and loaded on the Karin A. The ship was supposed to cross the Suez Canal this week and unload the weapons onto three smaller ships. Those ships were to transport the arms to Al Arish in Gaza and then were to be delivered to Commanders Rali and Razam.
An ingenious plan guaranteed to succeed whether it was succesful or not.
OH, and BTW those two planes that struck the WTC were really stolen by Israeli commandos who were trying to smuggle a tank load of aviation fuel out of the country when they were discovered and put their alternate plan into effect, blaming peace-loving followers of Islam.
araRAT says, 'what ship'?
(You forgot to mention the Liberty, but I'll give you a pass this time.)
I knew Patria, Buckaroo, etc. were "slightly" off-kilter
(ok I'm trying to be kind)
but I HAD NO IDEA that they were so far out there that what was obviously (at least to me) ridiculous hyperbole would be taken as their "legitimate" rantings.
to put it just slightly less subtley
IT WAS SARCASM
Sorry for distracting you unnecessarily with such childishness.
Blast from the past. Note the Iraq (Saddam era) connection as well.
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