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Thursday, November 5, 2009     INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING

Netanyahu accuses Iran of sending weapons to harm Israelis

TEL AVIV — Israeli officials said Iran has accelerated weapons shipments to Hizbullah, its Lebanese-based proxy through Syria, as well as other allies.   

The officials said Iranian rockets and other weapons were reaching Hizbullah by air, land and sea and meant for attacks on the Jewish state.

"Iran is sending these weapons to terror groups with the aim of hurting Israel and killing civilians," Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said.

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On Nov. 4, the Israeli military reported the capture of a ship loaded with Iranian weapons and heading for Lebanon or Syria, Middle East Newsline reported. The military said the ship, Francop, was loaded with up to 500 tons of missiles and other weapons and bound for Hizbullah.

In all, 3,000 rockets and missiles were aboard. The Cypriot-owned ship was released by Nov. 5.

"The weapons found onboard the ship originate from Iran, and were intended to reach the Hizbullah terror organization for use against the state of Israel and its citizens," the military said in a statement. "Dozens of shipping containers found on the ship were carrying numerous weapons and ordnance disguised as civilian cargo among hundreds of other containers onboard."

Officials said this was the largest weapons cache ever captured by Israel. Previous weapons shipments to Hizbullah and Palestinian insurgents were reported at no more than 50 tons.

"The situation is becoming more and more complex because the weapons they [Hizbullah] are acquiring are more and more dangerous to civilian targets in Israel," former Israeli ambassador Eli Shaked said.

This marked the third seizure of an Iranian weapons ship to Hizbullah in 2009. In October, the Hansa India, flying a German flag, was intercepted on its way to Malta and found to contain munitions and material for the production of weapons. Officials said the ship had been destined for Syria.

In January, another Iranian weapons shipment was intercepted in Cyprus. The ship, leased by an Iranian state-owned company, contained main battle tanks, artillery and mortars as well as material meant for rocket production. Officials said that ship was also bound for Syria.

In the latest seizure, the Israeli military said it had found an Iranian document that showed that the cargo originated from Iran. Officials said the ship's crew reported that the weapons -- including 106 mm, 107 mm, 122 mm rockets and artillery -- were picked up in Egypt.

"It's a cargo certificate that shows that it was from a port in Iran," military spokeswoman Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich said. "All the cargo certificates are stamped at the ports of origin, and this one was stamped at an Iranian port."

Officials said Iran was sending weapons to Hizbullah through a range of means and routes. They said Iran has directed Syria to relay much of its weaponry for the rearmament of Hizbullah.

"This [weapons ship] was a drop in the ocean," Israel Navy deputy commander Rear Adm. Roni Ben Yehuda said.




Comments


The greatest concern is that this 500-ton shipment is indeed a drop in an ocean of arms reaching Hizbullah. Israel's intelligence gathering is perhaps one of the best in the world, but do they know where these weapons are being stored? In a war, would they be able to quickly target those locations to neutralize Hizbullah's capacity to do dire harm to Israel?

Art Drexler      2:23 p.m. / Thursday, November 5, 2009

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