Israel seizes ship with Iran arms for Gaza: Netanyahu

Reuters /Yahoo! ^ | March 15, 2011 | by Jeffrey Heller

[library user]

~ EXCERPT ~

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli naval commandos on Tuesday seized a cargo ship in the Mediterranean carrying what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said were Iranian-supplied weapons intended for Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.

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.

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 toward Alexandria in Egypt. Turkey has no involvement in the arms shipment, the military said.

[ichabod1]

That seems like it would be big. Guess nobody cares about Israel unless somebody dies.

[Roccus]

If those two Iranian warships are still in Syria, I expect them to be doing escort duty with the next “Humanitarian Aid Flotilla” to Gaza.

Could get interesting.

[Wurlitzer]

It would be very interesting to see if William Ayers had any hand in this shipment like he did a few months ago.

[library user]

It could become real big. Real soon.

[AU72]

I hope Bibi has finally written off Obama.

[Christian Engineer Mass]

“controlled by Hamas, an Islamist movement opposed to peace with the Jewish state”

So - AT WAR - with the Jewish state.

[library user]

Good catch!

[teenyelliott]

German owned???????

[nikos1121]

How did they know? They intercept the ship in the middle of the Mediterranian Sea? THey knew that the Iranian war ships had no weapons in them, and let them pass through the Suez?

How do they know?

[Concho]

The nose,knows.

[Robe]

I heard somewhere that they only stayed a few days and returned via the Suez (March 4th, I think ) ... I thought it odd at the time considering that they originally said they’d be there for a year ...

[Dr. Sheldon Cooper]

Uh oh, adults seized the monkey's straight razors.

Traditional Muslim feces flinging to commence immediately.

[Roccus]

Had I not been so lazy, I would have found that they left the Med ten days ago.

Thanks.

[Cinnamon Girl]

To the Bibi Ping list: From Haaretz:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that weapons seized by the Israel Navy from a ship bound for Egypt earlier in the day had come from Iran, via Syria, and were intended for militants in Gaza.

"We are currently collecting information and the one thing that is certain is that the weapons are from Iran with a relay station in Syria," Netanyahu said.

"Last night, I granted permission to take over a ship for which we had the basis to think that there were weapons on it destined for Gaza," Netanyahu said. "The source of the weapons is Iran, which continues to try to arm terrorist forces against Israel."

"It is our right and duty to stop the smuggling of these weapons," the prime minister said, adding that all nations connected to the ship had been updated on the situation.

Some necessary pics of Bibi:

[Seruzawa]

Omigosh. The Deutsche are involved. Whodathunk?

[JPG]

Bibi indirectly blew off Barry when he said, “They murder, we build.”

[Ooh-Ah]

For more details and links:

Israelis Seize Ship Carrying Iranian Arms

by IPT News  •  Mar 15, 2011 at 9:23 am

http://www.investigativeproject.org/2688/israelis-seize-ship-carrying-iranian-arms

Israeli commandos intercepted a ship loaded with tons of Iranian-supplied weapons that was destined for Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip, reports indicate.

The elite Naval Commando 13 unit, the Shayetet, boarded the Liberian-flagged ship Victoria 200 miles off Israel's coast in the Mediterranean Sea Tuesday. Its last port of call was in Turkey.

Haaretz reports that the cargo started in Syria, stopped in Turkey and was to arrive in Egypt's El-Arish port. From there, it would be sent by land into Gaza. Crew members apparently were unaware of the nature of their cargo, and an Israeli military official said Turkey was not responsible "in any aspect."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to release more details about the shipment in the next day. He gave the order to board the ship based on what the Jerusalem Post called "firm intelligence" it carried Iranian arms headed to Gaza.

"The attempt to smuggle weapons into Gaza shows that there are radical forces who continue to try and harm Israel and undermine stability in the region," Defense Minister Ehud Barak said.

It's the latest successful interception of arms shipments by Israeli commandos. This 2009 story offers more examples.

[b4its2late]

Actually, they only care if an innocent “Palestinian” is killed by an Israeli soldier or an Israeli military intervention.