Israel: On Ground Updates - November 04, 2009

Israel: On Ground Updates
Israeli Navy Intercepts and Seizes 500 Tons of Hezbollah-Bound Iranian Weapons
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
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About above photo: Weapons unloaded from the Karin A ship which was intercepted by the Navy in 2002
Photo: Archives, IDF Spokesperson
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* Bloomberg.com brings us the following report and it starts off like this... The Israeli Navy intercepted a ship heading for Syria and seized an unprecedented 500-ton haul of weapons from Iran intended for the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah militia in Lebanon, the army said... “This is the largest cache of smuggled weapons ever to be seized by Israel,” an army spokeswoman, Avital Leibovitz, said in a phone interview today. “The cache includes thousands of rockets as well as hand grenades and mortar shells.”... Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and his Syrian counterpart, Walid Muallem, rejected Israel’s allegations during a joint press conference in Tehran today, Iran’s state-run Press TV reported... Israel seized the ship 100 miles (160 kilometers) off its Mediterranean coast and discovered 40 containers carrying the weapons, Leibovitz said. The vessel was flying the flag of Antigua and was stopped late yesterday due to “suspicions” about the vessel, she added...
Read the full report at link below...
Israel Seizes 500 Tons of Hezbollah-Bound Iran Arms
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* JPost.com has this take... Hundreds of tons of weaponry, ten times the size of the Karine A shipment of 2002, were seized in an overnight raid Tuesday by the Israeli navy, some 100 nautical miles west of Israel, officials said... Defense officials said the 140-meter long Francop, intercepted near Cyprus, was carrying arms sent by Iran and destined for Syria and possibly also Hizbullah... The weapons seized on the ship, which was sailing under an Antiguan flag, included some 3,000 rockets of various types, as well as bullets and ammunition... The transfer of such large amounts of weapons out of Iran could "create a balance of power" between Israel and terrorist organizations, assessed Brigadier General Rani Ben-Yehuda, deputy commander of the Israeli navy, at a press conference following the seizures...
Read this report in full at link below...
Weapons bound for Syria, Hizbullah
> Also from JPost.com is the following report...
PM: Ship proves Iran's support for terror organizations

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Israeli Commandos Seize Hezbollah-bound Ship

About this News Video: Israeli commandos seized a ship Wednesday that defense officials said was carrying hundreds of tons of weapons from Iran bound for Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas -- the largest arms shipment Israel has ever commandeered.
This video posted on YouTube by AssociatedPress
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Israel Navy Intercepts Iranian Weapons en route to Hezbollah, November 4th

About this News Video: The Israel Navy intercepted the "Francop" cargo ship, which was laden with roughly 500 tons of weapons hidden amongst civilian cargo. The 36 weapons containers were sent from Iran and meant for the Hezbollah terrorist organization in Lebanon. For further information on how the interception occurred and what was uncovered, see...
- Official IDF Announcement at link below -
Massive Arms Shipment Intended for Hezbollah Intercepted by Israel Navy
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To all those involved in this weapon seizure, I say this --

Job Well Done!!!
AubreyJ………