Posted on 03/15/2011 5:46:06 AM PDT by SJackson
The "Victoria" departed from Turkey, destined for El-Arish, where weapons from Iran would be smuggled to Hamas; ship boarded by Naval Commando 13, expected to arrive in Ashdod. The IDF seized a freighter ship with dozens of tons of weaponry from Iran headed for Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday.
The ship, known as Victoria, was flying a Liberian flag, and was seized by the navy in the Mediterranean Sea, 200 miles off of Israel's coast.
RELATED: How Flotilla 13 seized the 'Francop' Edelstein: Seized Iranian arms proves Goldstone Report encourages terror
The Victoria was boarded by commandos from the Israeli Navy's Flotilla 13, also known as the Shayetet, and is expected to arrive in the Ashdod port on Tuesday evening.
An initial inspection of the cargo revealed the ship was carrying weapons. The exact amount is to be determined.
The crew, questioned by the Navy Commando, was not aware that the cargo contained weaponry.
The ship set sail last night from Turkey, and was expected to dock in Alexandria. There, it was supposed to unload the weapons, which would travel by land to Gaza. The IDF's assessment is that the weapons did not originate in Turkey, but that the containers were unloaded there and transferred onto the Victoria .
"The operation was approved as necessary in accordance with government directives in light of Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz's recommendations," an IDF statement read.
Gantz updated Defense Minister Ehud Barak about the findings on-board the vessel earlier in the morning.
"The IDF and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs alerted German authorities about the interception of the "Victoria" due to the German ownership of the ship," the statement said.
In addition, the government of Liberia, whose flag it was flying under, was notified, as well as France, due to the French shipping company.
The Israeli Navy has conducted numerous operations over the years against Iranian smuggling to Hamas and Hezbollah.
Foreign reports attribute bombings of truck convoys in Sudan as well as arms ships in the Red Sea in recent years to the IDF.
In November 2009, the Israeli Navy seized the Francop cargo ship, which was carrying 500 tons of weaponry from Iran to Hezbollah in Lebanon, including Katyusha rockets and grenades. At the time, IDF officers said the amount was enough to sustain Hezbollah for several weeks of war.
Looks like they're shayetet out of luck.....
If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
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Who knew what and when?
Is Obama going to say anything about this today? Will he praise the IDF?
>>>>Is Obama going to say anything about this today? Will he praise the IDF?<<<<
He’s going to say they “acted stupidly”
I’d like to see ‘em inspect and unload it out to sea...Not impossible the boat could be rigged to blow up under the right circumstances...
Nope, he'll accuse the IDF of piracy.
Ha more free weapons for Israel. Obama is making his basketball picks today, or was that yesterday. Maybe today planning for Wednesday Nights “Weakly” Big Bash at the WH.
They lie. It was humanitarian aid, sent to the starving children and puppydogs. Some of the children aren’t even strong enough to strangle a puppydog now, because of this evil blockade./s
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