TEL AVIV Ñ Israel's navy has captured a boat full of weapons that officials said was heading for the Palestinian Authority in an operation approved by Yasser Arafat.

But U.S. officials said the destination was Lebanon and the Iranian-based Hizbullah.

The ship, called the Karine-A and carrying about 50 tons of weapons and ammunition, was captured on Thursday in a joint operation by Israel's navy and air force. The boat, which made a stopover in Yemen, was intercepted in the Red Sea about 500 kilometers south of the Israeli port of Eilat and between Sudan and Saudi Arabia.

The navy brought the boat to Israel and began unloading its cargo. Israel said the boat, whose captain, Omar Akawi, was a Palestinian naval officer, contains Katyusha rockets, anti-tank missiles, mortars and mines.

Military sources said the boat was filled with Iranian weapons, the lion's share of which was headed for the PA. They said the ship was purchased in Lebanon for $400,000 and its crew was composed of Egyptians and Jordanians. A Hizbullah agent was also found aboard the ship, the sources said.

"The connection between the Palestinian Authority and the smuggling operation is unequivocal, clear, and undeniable," Israeli Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Shaul Mofaz said. "Official figures in the Palestinian Authority were involved, among them senior officials in the Palestinian naval police."

Military sources said Israel deployed several attack helicopters and a cargo plane to help with the operation. The boat was commandeered by the navy's Flotilla 11 commando unit.

But U.S. defense officials, who reported that Washington provided Israel with intelligence help in locating the ship, dispute the Israeli version.

They said the ship had been sent by Iran and was heading for Lebanon and Hizbullah.

"I don't think it was necessarily Gaza Strip," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.

But Israeli military sources said all but perhaps a small portion of the weapons were meant for the PA. They said the weapons were to have been transferred to three small crafts and sent to the Sinai coast near the Egyptian town of El Arish. From there, the weapons were to have been transported overland to the Gaza Strip.

Print this Article

Email this article

Free Headline Alerts