Netanyahu: Iran's shipment of arms to Hezbollah - a war crime
PM responds to seizure of hundreds of tons of weapons believed to be Iranian shipment to Hezbollah.
By Barak Ravid Tags: Benjamin Netanyahu Iran Israel newsPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that the ship carrying hundreds of tons of weapons believed to have originated in Iran and meant for Hezbollah, which Israel intercepted early Wednesday, constituted a war crime that should be reviewed by United Nations bodies.
"This was a ship carrying a massive amount of weapons which the Iranian regime tried to ship to Syria, and from there to Hezbollah," the prime minister said during a press conference he convened at the Tel Aviv defense headquarters. "The bulk of the shipment included rockets whose aim is to hurt our citizens and kill as many civilians as possible. This constitutes a war crime."
"The UN General Assembly should have investigated and condemned this crime and the UN Security Council should have convened a special session to debate this incident," Netanyahu continued.
"This is a war crime which Iran intends to commit again in the future. The international community should be focusing on this, but instead, the world condemns Israel and the Israel Defense Forces and undermines our right to self defense," he said, referring to Wednesday's UN General Assembly debate over the Goldstone report, which accuses Israel of having committed war crimes in Gaza last winter.
"It is time that the international community, at least the more responsible countries, recognize the reality and refrain from promoting a lie," Netanyahu went on to say.
The Iran-backed Hezbollah denied that the arms were bound for them.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak, IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi and Navy Commander Eliezer Marom lauded the commandos who carried out the operation which culminated in the seizure of some 300 tons of weapons.
Military Intelligence Director Amos Yadlin said that the arms ship serves as evidence of what he termed the activity of the Iranian octopus. "This isn't just about weapons, but also about money used to fund terror and weapons and the training of Hamas and Hezbollah operatives in Iran," he said.
Israel instructs its diplomats: Harness arms ship seizure to direct pressure toward Iran
The Foreign Ministry issued a document to Israeli embassies and consulates around the world on Wednesday, instructing diplomats to utilize Israel's seizure of the ship to direct international pressure toward Iran.
Israeli diplomats were instructed to stress Iran's violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions forbidding it from supplying weapons to Syria or Hezbollah.
The Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem instructed diplomats to emphasize in interviews and conferences the fact that the ship that was seized en route to Syria, with a planned stop in Beirut. The diplomats were further asked to explain that the Israeli navy's actions, including diverting the ship to Ashdod, were all executed with the crew's cooperation.
Israel will use this event to put Iran in the limelight. The Foreign Ministry argues that this arms shipment is a blatant violation of UNSC resolution 1747 which forbids Iran from exporting weapons and ammunition. "Since these weapons are meant for the northern terror front, this is also a blatant violation of UN resolution 1701," the memo read.
The Foreign Ministry also asked embassies and consulates to issue a statement saying "Iran is continuing to smuggle weapons to terror organizations under the guise of legitimate international trade, and thus turns the Mediterranean Sea into a base for illegal activity."
It was further emphasized that "Iran is challenging the UN Security Council and poses a strategic threat to the stability and peace of the world."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that anyone who was still skeptical over Iran's continuous supply of weapons to terror organizations, was given conclusive proof when the Francop's cargo was exposed.
"Iran is shipping weapons to terror organizations in order to attack Israeli cities and kill its citizens. It is time that the international community applied real pressure on Iran to stop these criminal actions, and support Israel in its battle against terrorists and their patrons," Netanyahu said.
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PM Netanyahu and Defense Minister Barak briefing reporters Thursday on the seizure of an arms ship believed to be destined for Hezbollah. |
| Photo by: (Alon Ron) |
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this is a country that has threatened to wipe Israel off the face of the map..the rest of you self-important critics should shut up and be glad the IDF is good at what it does in side-lining the strategy of this insane country and dictator...I hope Iran wakes up and realize thier hatred could ignite the was nobody wants except themselves...
Israel is in NO position to cry war crimes when they have been committing them for over 60 years and Hezbollah are NOT terrorist, Israel is. Netanyahu, the game is over and the world knows who the real criminals are so shut up and live up to your war crimes.
One country sends an arms shipment to another. Israel enters international waters and seizes it ... and that's a war crime? Unless, of course, the crime is Israel's for piracy.
US will have to stop its arms supplies to Israel as israel will and have already used those arms to kill palestinians babies,kids and women.THAT is the war crime!i wonder does bibi think he can get away with this?he just shot himself in his foot!
how about gaza war and killing childeren? isnt it war crime?
How is this a war crime? Seriously.
how ridiculous to suggest that this is a crime, at the contrary it is Israel act must be regarded by all the world to be a crime a piracy act in broad day light, arm shipments are a normal current business between countries why this is an exception ?
The plot against Iran and freedom fighters is so gross even a child can see through it that the fabricated plot is to turn UN and world attention away from israel terror and war crimes.
Binny sez "The true cost of operation Cast Lead is that when Israel starts shouting "WAR CRIME!! WAR CRIME!!" and pointing fingers, Israel will now be ignored." The number of Palestinians killed in Operation Cast Lead did not exceed five or six hundred, Lorenzo Cremonesi, a correspondent for Italy's Corriere della sera reported. He based his report on tours of hospitals in the Gaza Strip and on interviews with families of casualties. He assessed the number of wounded to be far lower than 5,000, the number quoted by Hamas and repeated by the UN and the Red Cross. He interviewed Gazans who echoed Israel's insistence of how Hamas gunmen used civilians as human shields. Other Palestinians told him of Hamas operatives donning paramedic uniforms and commandeering ambulances. A woman spoke of Hamas using UN buildings as launch pads for rockets. He reported that he had difficultly gathering evidence as the local population was terrified of Hamas.
The true cost of operation Cast Lead is that when Israel starts shouting "WAR CRIME!! WAR CRIME!!" and pointing fingers, Israel will now be ignored. The Israeli defense for their own war crimes of pointing their finger and saying "what about them?" will increasingly be turned against Israel. Fingers will now point back at Israel and ask "what about you?" every time Israel accuses their enemies of war crimes. This is the true price Israel will continue to pay for Operation Cast Lead.
I felt, for years, the same with you, but also that there is nothing that can be done about it. Netanyahu's-Likud politics combined with Lieberman and the settlers plus Shas, with their fixation on keeping the territories, have ruined any hope to achieve an understanding with the Palestinians. And THAT is leading exactly to the ending described by you. The hopes we had with Kadima evaporated during the years of Qassams. So, Israelis turned to Netanyahu!... So there we go. It may happen before you'll be eighty... At least, from the USA, you will be able to see what comes next. I don't really care for myself... And Obama....forget it. Europe will be next. The miserable situation of Arabs in France, particularly... After all, what gets into the hands of Hezbollah or Hamas, gets everywhere.
prohibiting them from selling arms around the world... Iran does.
Industrial western countries such as Germany, swiss and others continue working and supplying Iran with technology and machines that are used for it's nuclear and weapons manufacturing, what a shame !!!!
Otherwise it lets Iran demonstrate its power in the Middle East.
Nobody can beat Israel.
Arctic Sea?...
Very true and well said.
If the Iran's shipmement of arms is a war crime, then the Isarel's shipement of arms to dictatorships in Africa and Asia is a war crime too. The peace loving Israel is the forth important arm dealer in the world.Your prime minister may blame Iran for war crimes, at the same time the world is accusing Israel of war crimes in Gaza, based on the Goldstone report. Israel's permanet lies don't help to escape the punishement.
Tony Silver wrote: "...israeli invention just to make the International Community believe is always a victim." Just what we need around here, another European lunatic. As if we didn't have enough of them already... You and Swiss (Dizzy) belong as room mates. Harry
u know the truth. those weapons were not going to walmart. ok, so you are anti-israel but deep down u know the truth.
israeli invention just to make the International Community believe is always a victim.
About is going to backfire in such a way that they will start to care. Does anybody realise how much damage 300 tons + of Iranian arms can do to Israels civilian population?
This is rich! The generals that carried out operation cast lead calling this alleged arms shipment a "war crime". There really is no end to their chutzpah. Their national hubris is so swollen that the country has lost any modicum of self awareness. Israel has lot it. Its gone off the deep end. Its become an hysteric mental patient.
Iran's intercepted arms shipment to Hizbullah? Peanuts compared to what'll happen if Iran gets nuclear weapons. The mullahs will not only give nukes to their proxies in Lebanon and Gaza - but also the means to deliver them to Israel so quickly, the Israelis will have no time to respond. This is just another early warning sign of the nuclear proliferation Iran will unleash on Israel *and* the world. I'm aged 76 and may not live long enough to see the worst of it. But I feel sorry for the lot of you who may. To quote Leonid Brezhnev, 'the living will envy the dead'. MV
Caught them with there pants down, good job. Now lets see how long it takes for the naysayers to accuse Israel of setting this whole thing up. Ah, I love the conspiracy theories. The tortured logic used by the antisemitic to discredit Israel. The funny thing is, the more laughable the theory, the more the loons fall for it.
Israel is accused of war crimes so now they must show someone is a 'war criminal'. How convenient. Bibi musta made a late night call to the IDF to find something, anything, to divert and spin attention away from Israel. Nice try, no ones buying. The sneaky machinations to manipulate world opinion does not work anymore. Bibi and his thugs are idiots and fooling no one. Hezbollah? Born out of Israels own actions. Oh, and by the way, it was illegal to forcefully board a ship in international waters. Another illegal action by Israel. Desperate criminals call for desperate measures, something Israel knows all about.
Didn't think so.
How unfortunate that you are probably correct. I would be most surprised to see the UN act upon this.
A lot of Iranian R&D projects are carried out by German companies. Most of these make their way into Iranian weapons - directly or indirectly.
Until the missiles are shot into Israeli cities for years and Israel finally retaliates. Only then will all the Goldstones of the world start jumping up and down in indignation--at the temerity of Israel's self-defense.
these comments prove that there is something not ripe about this ship, i was hoping that bibi wont make it so obvious but i guess he is so desperate that this may slip into the forgotten hole so he is throwing everything out there including the kitchen sink in hopes something may stick... not sure where and how this will end but its apparent the desperation by the government is starting to weigh in heavier then the shipment's weight.
their S300 missile systems to Iran/Syria, I'm sure that Israel will seize them before they get to those terror sponsoring states.