Reuters: Israel seizes ship carrying Iranian weapons to Gaza :: Political News and commentaries

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March 15, 2011

Reuters: Israel seizes ship carrying Iranian weapons to Gaza

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 ...

"Many weapons were found on board, intended for terrorist forces in the heart of Gaza," Netanyahu said. "Iran is the source of the weaponry." ...

As the Reuters piece goes on to note, last May, there was an international outcry when Israeli naval commandos seized a Turkish ship that was part of a flotilla trying to break the Gaza blockade. On the other hand, so far, not a peep has been heard from the international community over the recent mindless slaughter of an Israeli family at the hands of Palestinians.

And what the Reuters article fails to mention is that the "Victoria" docked at the same port in Syria as 2 Iranian vessels that transited the Suez canal, and that the weapons on board from Iran were intended to be smuggled to Hamas. How it is that the Turkish government could not be aware of the cargo being transferred isn't made clear. Clearly, either Turkey has the least competent inspectors in the world, or it is in cahoots with Iran (more likely the latter).

Supposedly, the UN has sanctions in place against the Iranians that specifically forbid arms transactions with Iran

(Hat tip - Robert Spencer)

Posted by Richard at March 15, 2011 10:05 AM

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