IDF seizes boat carrying weapons from Turkey to Gaza
Ship left Turkey destined for Egypt; IDF says ship, which was seized with no struggle, was carrying 'tons' of concealed weapons destined for terror organizations operating in Gaza.
By Anshel Pfeffer and Amos HarelThe Israeli navy seized a ship on Tuesday that was apparently smuggling weapons destined for Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The Israel Defense Forces Spokesman Unit said that the ship "Victoria" originated from the Lattakia port in Syria and sailed to Mersin, Turkey. It was seized while on its way from Turkey destined for the El-Arish port in Egypt.
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Weapons on the 'Francop' ship, which the IDF siezed in 2009. |
| Photo by: IDF Spokesman Unit |
Elite troops from the Shayetet 13 naval commando unit took control of the ship without a struggle when it was around 200 nautical miles off Israel's coast and towed it to the port in Ashdod. According to the IDF Spokesman Unit, the ship was carrying "tons" of concealed weapons destined for "the use of terror organizations operating in the Gaza Strip."
The IDF said that once the ship is anchored in Ashdod, its contents will be thoroughly examined and its crew will be taken in for questioning. Although the ship had set sail from Turkey, it bore a Liberian flag.
Turkey is not responsible for the seized ship "in any aspect," the IDF said.
A joint statement from the IDF and Foreign Ministry said that German officials have been alerted of the ship's seizure, as the ship belonged to a German company. Liberian officials have also been alerted due to the Liberian flag on the ship. The operating company of the ship was from France, and thus French officials were also made aware of the situation.
This is not the first time that Israel has seized a ship carrying concealed weapons. The most famous incident was in 2003, when the Israeli military seized the Karine A, a vessel with 50 tons of missiles, mortars, rifles and ammunition headed for Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.
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I'm sure Turkey was only sending some of the paint ball guns the Israelis used to kill the activists on the flotilla. so really what does israel have to worry about?
Germany and France should have known better than to try this without buying safe passage from local pirates! That's right, and I'm that credible source...with just as much proof as the IDF has that they were bound for Gaza!
Of course, you have the same resources as the IDF so you should know these things. Of course, Hamas' weapons grow on the trees in Gaza. Of course, as you always say, Israel lies about everything. Of course, never miss a chance to slander israel.
statement. I certainly don't know but undoubtely could be either.
Thank God for the wisdom he had given the Israel army, we will pray they catch more vessels belong to the enimies.
Israel. What a crock. Yah, Egypt needs those weapons. Sure.
great job idf. be safe
European and us tax payers should know how their support to gaza is being refined :)
My guess is: YES. Satellite Intel probably picked up the Iranian ship off-loading weapons in Latakia on its "goodwill/training visit" after sailing through the Suez canal, and IDF waited until satellite intelphotos showed the weapons being transferred to a ship that would dock in Egypt. Israel had every legal right to enforce the worldwide embargo against Iranian arms trafficking and against weapons delivery to Gaza, by seizing this ship, which it does NOT have to give back to the German owners (presumably, strident Netanyahu critic Angela is not about to ask for it!). Iran likely chose this route after IDF sank two of their weapons cargo ships in the Red Sea and bombed transfer depots in Sudan. This success provides a basis for tightening the sanctions against Iran arms trafficking - such as banning Iranian ships from the Red Sea and the Suez canal. It also puts Egypt and its Al-Arish port firmly in the gunsites of illegal arms smuggling sanctions - do you think Egypt was going to seize this cargo? NO, they were going to load in into 18-wheel semis to Gaza as "aid". Israel and int'l community enforcing UN's Iran arms sanctions are now entitled to search all ships heading to Al-Arish coming from Syria, Lebanon or Turkey. In law enforcement, this is called "probable cause", and its valid under Maritime Law as well.
It's understandable for Israel to seize the weapons allegedly destined to those it treats as its enemies: the Palestinians. Of course Israel, master of denial, will tell you it considers Palestinians its brothers and sisters, and treats them fairly and with dignity. The seizure of another boatload of weapons in as many years should be an opportunity for Israel to indulge in soul searching. Israel needs to think sincerely and honestly about the genuine demands of the Palestinian people, and the desperation that's leading them to seek violence as an alternative, when honest dialogue with Israel is becoming more and more elusive. Besides empty words, Israel has shown little interest lately in honest dialogue, and it has shown even less action on the ground to prove it wants negotiated peace and a fair resolution to the Israel-Palestinian issue. How is Israel showing it really wants peace? By issuing more building permits to settlers on land Israel occupies illegally, and then telling Palestinians they shouldn't worry or talk about it if they are sincere about peace. Rub insult to injury! It's no longer good enough for Israel to ignore and avoid addressing the genuine demands of Palestinians, and do nothing besides condemning the violence or potential violence by some Palestinians, which is clearly the result of unaddressed demands. It's the elephant in the room. Violence by Palestinians or Israelis for that matter should always be condemned. So should the behavior of a nation that makes it a policy to deny another people their basic rights and treat them like dogs. There is absolutely no excuse to treat another people this way.
Those settlements that you would like the world to recognize as illegal are NOT illegal. They are illegitimate under International Law and to leap from the classification as illegitimate to illegal is possible only if the UNSC defines it as such. Such a move, if undertaken, will dundermine the UN itself, as the common law nature of the UN will be compromised.
Never mind if you are under blockade and unarmed. Only Israel has the right to weapons, and it's neighbors dare not get any,
Yes -like all the other nations, too. For the selfdefence. But is the selfdefence the priority of Israel, only? I hope, those arms are not needed...on bothe sides.
What proves the arms were for Gaza, as opposed to for Eqypt or the Libian rebels? I doubt the ship carried a manifest saying "One ton of illigal rockets, as ordered by Hamas".
The CIA, MI6 ect. all conduct operations outside their borders, in to stop terrorists. It doesn't matter where they are, and at what time. Terrorists smuggling weapons have to be stopped. International water or not, at least now were sure they can't use these weapons for terrorist attacks.
Forgive me, but it is stated that this ship sailed from Turkey to the Egyptian port of El Arish, yet Israeli officials claim that it was carrying arms for some terrorist organization in Gaza? Is there any proof that this is indeed the destination of the cargo? Or is it possible that Israeli authorities were guided by the axiom "shoot first, ask questions later"? If indeed this operation was done on a hunch, will this kind of stance land Israel into hot water with yet another of her neighbors? Namely, Egypt.
Someone has to enforce it. Egypt does not need to smuggle weapons, it is a legitimate sovereign state and is not under embargo. Therefore for 2 reasons the ship was intercepted - the violation of the embargo and the war material it contained, destined for terror organisations in Gaza
to stop Israeli intelligence from tracking any illegal arms into Palestinian territories, or even from stopping the ship not to have a diplomatic incident. Well done IDF on this case for doing what is right in protecting your peoples and nation. As for talk backs citing International law being used by smugglers as protection, this makes the particular law an ass! as long asa nation can prove it had evidence of smuggling going on.
How dare the people under occupation have arms - only occupiers and imposers of an illegal blockade should have weapons!
more than they need arms. Besides, this is war. During war it is normal to disrupt or destroy enemy supplies. Never in history of conflict did 2 sides draw up an inventory of military assets to make sure both were equal prior to commencing battle!
Never.
I hope I'm wrong but I imagine that even as I'm writing this, Bibi and his idots are preparing a hasbara blitz for the world, just as with the recent family murder, in a desperate hope that doing that will allow the occupation and the settlement expansion to continue. If so, they're only fooling themselves and other Zionists. WE KNOW the Pals aren't agels and that some of them are very nasty. WE KNOW that. But we also know that plenty of Pals are ordinary, decent people, just like most israelis, and we also know that Abbas is doing his best, and that, while ending the occupation brings the possibility of more violence, not ending it, brings the CERTAINTY of more violence and hatred and eventually, possibly the destruction of Israel in warfare. NOW is the time. NO MORE BS. JUST END THE OCCUPATION.
Michael, your obsession with Israel is becoming very worrying. Not surprising though, given your country's treatment of Jews.
hamas...how do you deal with them? how do you deal with the younger, stronger radicals in the PA that are the next leaders once abbas and fayyad are deposed... what do you do about abbas in the meantime calling for NO jews, civilian or military, in any new palestinian state? that's ethnic cleansing mike...dont you have something to say about that? what do you do about abbas saying he will not agree to land swaps? isnt that one of the key parts of the peace formula by all the key(Russia, US, UK, france, China) players involved? I applaud your wish for peace. But the actual realities of how you guarantee its implementation are quite fuzzy. Remember michael, the PLO was established in 1964 as a terrorist liberation group 3 full yrs PRIOR to their being any occupied territory...how do you rationalize that? What were they trying to LIBERATE in 1964????? You see michael, unlike the IRA, who you finally made peace with, the cultural mentality and RELIGIOUS aspect of the muslims are far different than what you had to deal with in the IRA , and then, no rockets were landing in london, were they...??? The simple truth is, israel has always traded land..israel gave up sinai ....israel made peace with jordan...and yet, when israel left lebanon, rockets still came, and when israel gave up gaza, rockets still came. so....if you have PRACTICAL solutions then why dont you share them here with all of us, or better yet, with your palestinian friends. No sarcasm intended...I really mean, why not work for that goal of convincing the palestinians to renounce all violence and recognize israel as a jewish state now and forever. See how far you get and come back to let us all know. thanks mike.
All I'm suggesting is pretty much what the world suggests: 1) Israel withdraws from WB except for minor mutual agreed land swaps. Settlers become Pal citizens or leave. 2) International forces flood WB, as with Kosovo to ensure peaceful transition and no attacks on Israel. 3) Token return of 100,000 or less Pals to Israel and compensatio for rest. Same applies to Jewish refugees from Arab countries, return or compensation. 4) Full recognition of Israel by all Arab states and opening of biorders and commitment to prevent attacks on Israel 5) Constitutional guarantees and programme of education within Israel to prevemt discrimination against Arabs and integrate Arabs into the core of Israeli society. Any problems with any of that? Why can't Bibi get started on it? Answer: because settlemnents are more important to him than a fair peace.
Example: UN never kept its 1947 commitment to insure free worship in Jerusalem. Example: UN never stopped Arab attacks on Israel after the 1950 Armistice in imposed. Example: US and failed o hopnor its commitment to keep Tiran straits open - causing the 1967 war. UN forces failed to prevent re-armingof Hezbollah under UNSC 1701. Example: world failed to prevent rocket smuggling across demilitarized Sinai into Gaza. Etc., etc. Demilitarization and guarantees mean NOTHING. KOSOVO??? Under failed "UN guarantees", the entire native Serbian population of Kosovo was ethnically cleansed from their homes by illegal immigrants from Albania. No Arabs are going "back" to Israel, not 100,000, not ONE. That's what the PA state is for. And what is your "plan" to remove rejectionist Hamas and their rockets from Gaza, a paper promise?? If Israel is going to withdraw from the Jordan Valley, to prevent a repeat of the Gaza rocket arsenal terrorism, Israel needs a multi-trillion dollar air defense system capable of shooting down in flight 100.0% of all rocket and mortar fire from the PA state, nothing gets through. Who will pay for that, because Israel isn't going anywhere for worthless paper promises like they've hadto date. That's reality. For withdrawing, Israel is entitled to the same peace with the Arabs that Norway has with Sweden. Or no deal.
What overtures of compensation by Arab states to former Jewish residents have you heard???????? What makes you so sure that the Pals would accept a token return of 100,000 ? What makes you sure that an international force would be accepted by Israel and the Pals in WB, and what guarantees are there of its effectivity? We have seen how useless international forces have been in the past with regards to Israel's security - UNIFIL was a waste of money and is now an embarrasment for the UN.
you have no idea what you are talking about. The pals wont agree to one thing you mentioned. Not one. I think you need to re assess the situation and be critical of both sides...just last month abbas called for ethnic cleansing. I didnt hear a peep from you, nor from your arab apologists, nor from cameron, sarkozy and the great liar in the white house. Not a peep.
They are searching the ship. Soon you'll see that there are several knives "concealed" in kitchen in support of Hamas. Then i will congratulate Shayetet pirates for their outstanding piracy operation. Somalians should learn from Israel.
Since obama says israel is his "unshakeable" ally, what will he say about for instance turkey, where he made his speech in 2009, or syria, where he just re appointed a US ambassador.... will he demand that they stop trying to kill jews via their proxies in gaza and west bank? will he? My guess is you wont hear a peep from obama...its not his style to stand up for his allies.
The ship originated from the port of Latakia.... now isn’t that a coincidence. Didn’t the Iranian tanker the Kharg... moored in Latakia last week. Funny thing, but the Syrians must think satellites don’t have the resolution to photograph unloading cargo. And if the cargo happens to be weapons marked as ‘made in Iran’... we’ll assume they simply materialized from the Planet Bongo.
ended up supplying the PKK with weapons. The Europeans would be calling emergency sessions and the Turks would be going mad. Since the Turks are now Hamas' best friends, maybe it is time Israel made friends with the worlds largest group of stateless people - the forgotten Kurds who the world doesn't care about because there are no Jews involved.
it all seems to have been too easy
I think Iran is fooling Germany, France and Liberia. But I doubt Turkey and Syria didn't know anything about it.
Not Turkiye but from Syria!
I'm sure other governments in the area are involved in this intelligence gathering, which is first and foremost is aimed at curbing Iranian influence and weakening its proxies.
israel is again ignoring international law. Seizing a ship 200 nautic miles from it's shores is a clear act of piracy. piracy which is mostly done by terrorists and outlaws. Ergo. israel is an outlaw,terrorist state.
It is ethical and correct that terrorists should be intercepted wherever they are located.
There is an arms embargo on Iran by UN, US and EU. Any nation with the capability to intercept vessels operating in breach of that embargo are duly obligated to do so.
We still have plenty more coming
More diving attractions!
Israel has declared this has nothing to do with Turkey. it's terrosit Syria that is responsible for the shipment.
I knew Turkey's government supports Hamas but to send them weapons to kill Israelis is a step up from sending the Turkish terrorists on the Marmara.
The Turkish government is running into trouble at every turn.
Turkey should protest that Israel's taken this beautiful ship of peace and brotherhood hostage. Nothing but love and friendship on this floatila, folks. Please move on...
Good to see we can redeem ourselves after the previous Turkey episode
in International Waters with well armed goons? I know... they will be charged not with breaking any international law, but only with entering Israel illegally, when they were kidnapped and taken there against their will. Why does the world fight Somili pirates, but leave the Israel pirates alone?
Israeli children were saved by a clean job, and you cry foul due to laws you don't know. Being such a shameless anti-Semite shoving the ton of arms for terror organizations in Gaza under sight just to bash Israel? You know nothing of International Maritime Law.
The ship LEFT from Syria, stopped by Turkey, and was headed for Egypt.
and let it pass on.
It would be sad if this is the state of affairs
Seize the arms and put them in IDF warehouses. Arrest the crew and hold for questioning and then release at the expense of the shipper. Then, to send a message to all maritime insurers who issue certificates of insurance to companies that charter their ships for this practice, that anytime any of their ships are found to be carrying munitions to our enemies, that the ship will be hauled out to sea and used for target practice by our Navy and Air Force and sunk.
200 nautical miles off Israel? since when israeli navy patrols international waters? Turkey should send Turkish navy off the coasts of Cyprus as well
Where or What are those "concealed" weapons? What will happen if they are "concealed" so good and they cannot find anything in Ashdod?? Israel should stop piracy in high seas or we should start seizing Israeli ships for concealed "organs, diamonds, arms and drugs."
...Pitty....
Are the Turks going to argue that this was humanitarian aid?
a ship from turkey to egypt in international waters .!!!!! what if turkey said they have sold arms to egypt ??? wanna more trouble with these two countries. they better have proof that it was intended to go to hamas (which is very hard to prove) .... i guess its was recless ...... IMHO
it resembles the same catch as last year doesn’t it? The world is not longer your stooges!!!!
time to lift the veil on Turkey's real intentions (beyond its FM's recent declaration) and to realize it is unfit to join the EU
Turkey is turning into one of Israel's bitterest enemies.
No loss of life....nobody hurt....well done!!!!! Pals should be getting food and water, not bombs and ammo.
May we assume this is in keeping with the Israeli legal doctrine that it has the right to sleze ships in international waters on the suspicion that the ship's cargo is bound for a purpose it doesn't approve of?
... where it will be fired into the kindegartens of Ashkelon and Sderot.
Those who sailed the ship should not be freed for a long time. The boat should be sold publicly and the money used on the people in qassam range of Gaza.
I mean how else are the Palestinians are suppose to fish if not to use the common technique of dynamite fishing...
The poor Palestinian people - being ruled by these guys has wrecked their cause.
Until free people are alive
. for instruments of murder. If only it would invest these funds in feeding their people and creating jobs the world might be a better place.
Then is it an act of war?
The ship originated from Syria, with whom we already are in a state of war.
Israel killed 9 Turkish citizens in international waters- THAT is an act of war
if the 9 Turkish citizens meant to enter Israeli territory to brake international and Israeli laws against terrorism and crimes against humanity, or what would you call Hamas' targeting civilians and children? freedom fight? so Turkey was "fighting for freedom" when they killed thausands of Armenians, yeah now I get it....
Especially if they have Israeli as "neighbour"
Which 'enlightened' Arab state shall I begin with? Lybia?