This Week

Eye-Opening Raid

Israel's capture of Iranian arms bound for the Palestinians boosts Israel's psyche and underscores PA intentions.,

Most of the weapons carried
Iranian markings. Israel estimates
the cargo cost tens of millions of
dollars, in addition to the
$400,000 paid for the Karine A.
The Katyushas, familiar from
Lebanon, would have put Ben-
Gurion International Airport and
Israeli cities within Palestinian
range.

ERIC SILVER
Special to the Jewish News

Jerusalem

T

he capture last week of a massive
Palestinian arms shipment 300 miles
down the Red Sea from Eilat has revived
Israel's spirit after 15 demoralizing
months of intifada (uprising) mayhem.
"This is what we are trained for," exulted a senior
security officer at a diplomatic cocktail party. The
Jerusalem Post rejoiced that it had "put pride back"
in the Israel Defense Forces. The mass-circulation
Yediot Achronot dubbed it "a classic James Bond
operation." Everyone invoked the Entebbe rescue of
hijacked airline passengers in 1976.
The storming of the Karine A, codenamed
"Noah's Ark," was at least four weeks in the plan-
ning. Drills were practiced, key reservists were draft-
ed. Yet not a whisper leaked. The commanders of
the Israeli army, navy and air force sneaked through
a back door to brief Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in
his home. The Americans, who shared intelligence
data, were told as much as they needed to know.
Surprise was total. When Israeli marine comman-
dos struck at 4 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 4, 11 of the 13
crew were asleep in their bunks. The other two were
dozing on watch. The marines handcuffed some
before they woke. Not a shot was fired and there
were no casualties.

Iranian Arms

Israeli intelligence had been tracking the Karine A
for months. In early December, the ship set sail
from Yemen under a Tongan flag of convenience for
the Iranian coast. On Dec. 11, it approached the
Iranian island of Qais while under Israeli electronic
surveillance.
Military sources said it was met by Iranian intelli-
gence officers and a representative of the Lebanese
Hezbollah militia, who supervised the loading of 50
tons of weapons in 83 containers.
Israeli missile boats, combat and transport heli-
copters were waiting. As the Karine A sailed into the
Red Sea towards the Suez Canal, they closed in. The
marines pounced simultaneously, some slipping
down by rope from the helicopters, others scaling
the deck from rubber boats. It was all over in eight
minutes.
Yediot called it "a well-timed concert, executed
professionally and precisely" The chief of staff,
Lieutenant-General Shaul Mofaz, a veteran of the
Entebbe raid in 1976, commanded the operation by
radio from a Boeing 707 aircraft.
The shipment, which was destined for Yasser
Arafat's Palestinian Authority, was a gift for Sharon.

For related editorial: page 19

2002

14

Destination Confirmed

Sharon vigorously denied
American suggestions that the
shipment was destined for
Hezbollah. General Mofaz said the
captain and other sailors admitted
that the weapons were to be smug-
gled into Gaza, then infiltrated
into the West Bank.
The idea was to land the cargo
on the Egyptian Sinai coast and
transfer it to small fishing boats.
The containers, designed to float
just below the surface with a buoy
showing their location, would then
Israeli Army Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz points out to Prime Minister
be dropped off Gaza, where
Ariel Sharon and Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer some of the
Palestinian seamen would scoop
weapons found on a ship on its way to Palestinian areas.
them up during the night.
The chief of staff said the prison-
ers
confirmed
that
"central
figures" in the Palestinian
"The type and character of the weapons and ammi-
Authority were responsible for procuring the ship
nition prove once again that the Palestinian
and its cargo, as well as recruiting the mixed
Authority has been focusing all its efforts on terror-
Palestinian, Jordanian and Egyptian crew.
ism and preparing the operational infrastructure for
Among others, Israel named Adel Mughrabi, the
the next wave of terror," Sharon said on Sunday.
PA's chief purchasing officer, and Fuad Shubaki, the
"Let there be no mistake. This is the choice made
paymaster of the Palestinian security services. The
by the chairman of the Palestinian Authority."
captain was Colonel Omar Akawi, a senior officer in
Sharon was speaking on the parade ground of the
the naval police, an elite unit that spends as much
Eilat naval base, where the booty was laid out for
time on land as at sea. It reports to Arafat.
inspection, row after row: shiny mortars, ground-to-
Akawi confirmed to foreign journalists on Tuesday
ground Katyusha rockets, anti-tank missiles, rocket-
that he took his orders from the Palestinian Authority
propelled grenades, bright yellow mines, waterproof
and that the arms were destined for the PA. ❑
containers of small arms and bullets.

TEE ISSITE

BID T ISSUE

As U.S. envoy, General Zinni is
As the Bush administration con-
asking Yasser Arafat to take meas-
tinues its war against terrorism, it
ures against the terror infrastruc-
has also returned to Middle Fast
diplomacy with the recent visit of ture, arrest their commanders and
collect weapons. At the same
General Anthony Zinni to the
time, the U.S. is giving Israel $28
region. With these develop-
million to purchase counter-ter-
ments, Israeli Prime Minister
rorism equipment, primarily
Sharon is calling for a further
robots that perform controlled
linkage between successful
ex losions on , suspected bombs,
counter-terrorism and diplomacy.
Ay1/ ,
4 ' ..

and sophisticated Xra r equip
ment to examine suspect contain-
ers and trucks. Prime Minister
'Sharon asks the U.S. to go even
further, declaring the Arafat-
linked Fatah, Tanzim and Force
17 as terror organizations.

--- Allan Gale, Jewish
COninnality Council
of Metropolitan Detroit

