Israel seizes Egypt-bound ship loaded with arms

[News_Editor]

Israel seizes Egypt-bound ship loaded with arms

2011-03-15 23:09:01 GMT+7 (ICT)

JERUSALEM (BNO NEWS) -- The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Tuesday seized a cargo vessel loaded with weaponry suspected to be used by terror organizations in the Gaza Strip, officials said.

The Liberian-flagged vessel Victoria was intercepted by the navy 200 miles west of Israel's coast. The ship initially departed from Lattakia Port in Syria and then proceeded to Mersin Port in Turkey, en route to Alexandria in Egypt.

"According to assessments, the various weapons on board the vessel were intended to be used by terror organizations operating in the Gaza Strip," a military statement said.

The military added that "Turkey is not tied to the incident in any way."

The force was met with no resistance from the crew on-board and the vessel was being escorted to the Israeli port of Ashdod for further inspection.

The IDF and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs alerted German authorities about Victoria's interception as the ship was German property. In addition, the government of Liberia was notified, as well as France because of its French shipping company.


Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak commended the Israel Navy for the operation.

"The goal of the smuggling was to harm the security of Israel. The IDF acted in order to defend the security of the country," he said.

"The attempt to smuggle weaponry to Gaza shows that radical elements are continuing in their attempts to attack Israel and undermine regional stability," Barak added.

Over the past 10 years there have been many attempts to smuggle weapons by sea. According to the IDF, these attempts "highlight the cooperation between Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, and Hamas in their goal to undermine the State of Israel and target its civilians."

The Israeli Navy has conducted numerous operations over the years against Iranian smuggling to Hamas and Hezbollah. In November 2009, the Israeli Navy seized a ship carrying 500 tons of weapons, rockets, and missiles, disguised as civilian cargo. Israel said they were coming from Iran and were bound for the militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-03-15

[Steely Dan]

Set off from Syria eh? I wonder whether this is connected with what was aboard the two Iranian warships which recently docked in Syria.

[chuckd]

Set off from Syria eh? I wonder whether this is connected with what was aboard the two Iranian warships which recently docked in Syria.

No way. The Iranians and Syrians wouldn't do anything like that.

[powderpuff]

Hooray for Israeli intelligence.

The numbskull terrorists will have to get up earlier.

Hope they sink the vessel.

[Steely Dan]

http://www.debka.com/article/20768/

Israeli navy intercepts vessel carrying arms delivered by Iranian warships

DEBKAfile Special Report March 15, 2011, 4:08 PM (GMT+02:00) Tags: arms shipment Egypt Hamas Iranian warships Israeli naval commandos Heavy mortar shell in A.S. Victoria weapons cargoThe Israeli Navy's elite Shayetet 13 commandos intercepted the German-owned A.S. Victoria Tuesday, March 15 about 320 kilometers off Israel's Mediterranean coast on its way from the Turkish port of Mercin to Egyptian El Arish with Alexandria its final destination.

The Liberian-flagged vessel was carrying a large consignment of weapons including C-704 shore-to-ship missiles with a range of 35 kilometers and heavy mortars shells bound for the Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza Strip. debkafile reports the consignment was picked up at the Syrian port of Latakia after being offloaded there by the two Iranian warships which transited the Suez Canal February 22.

The ship's documents and crew showed the vessel had departed from Latakia Port in Syria before proceeding to Mercin Port in Turkey. At least three crates of weapons were uncovered on board. Hundreds of others will be inspected when the ship reaches Israeli port. The crew did not resist the Israeli naval commandoes who boarded the vessel.

The US and Israeli navies did not stop the Iranian Alvand missile destroyer and Kharg logistical cruiser when they applied to transit the canal last month, asserting that they could not be stopped as they were not carrying contraband weapons. Egyptian Suez Canal officials made the same determination after reporting they had been inspected. Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the voyage was no more harmful than a "cadets' outing."

debkafile alone reported the Iranian warships were carrying missiles

It now turns out that the clean bill of health they all gave the Iranian warships was not based on fact.

At the same time, debkafile's military sources report that from the time that the Iranian navy ships entered the Mediterranean, US and Israeli warships and spy planes kept their movements under close surveillance: Around Feb. 25-26, the Kharg was seen offloading a large batch of containers at Syrian Navy ordnance depots in Latakia port.

In the second half of last week, the German A.S Victoria docked there and was seen loading the containers delivered by the Iranian warships at Latakia.

It now appears that the ship was instructed to detour to the Turkish port and wait there for a couple of days to disguise its real destination.

But after learning that the arms were bound for El Arish, in northern Sinai, Israel decided to apprehend the cargo before it could be delivered, whether to Hamas in Gaza or radical Egyptian Muslims, which Iran has been backing and funding.

Hamas would have arranged to have had it picked up at Al Arish and spirited into the Gaza through its smuggling tunnels. But it is possible too that Iran, while originally planning to consign the weapons to the Palestinian extremists in Gaza, changed their destination later to Egypt.

Much about this episode is still obscure, except for the clear evidence of military intelligence cooperation between Tehran, Damascus, Ankara, Hizballah and Hamas in the smuggling of Iranian weapons to radical groups in the region.

Cairo may have something to say about the seizure in international waters of a ship bound for Egyptian waters, albeit one surreptitiously carrying arms. Ankara, too, will not enjoy the exposure of Mercin, a port under the close supervision of the Turkish Navy, as a hub for the illegal transfer of Iranian war materials to the Palestinian Hamas and anti-government forces fighting Arab regimes.

debkafile's intelligence sources report that several boats loaded with arms for the Libyan rebels sailed out of Mercin in the last few days. They were bound for the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

It was decided in Jerusalem that whatever the destination of the Iranian weapons cargo may be, severing this link in Iran's new weapons smuggling route was absolutely essential.

[LaoPo]

Set off from Syria eh? I wonder whether this is connected with what was aboard the two Iranian warships which recently docked in Syria.

Why didn't the Israeli check upon those 2 Iranian ships when they left the Suez canal, bound for Syria ?

And, is it also allowed for all other Mediterranean countries to check upon Israel bound ships -in INTERNATIONAL WATERS- ?

LaoPo

Edited March 16, 2011 by LaoPo

[Steely Dan]

Set off from Syria eh? I wonder whether this is connected with what was aboard the two Iranian warships which recently docked in Syria.

Why didn't the Israeli check upon those 2 Iranian ships when they left the Suez canal, bound for Syria ?

And, is it also allowed for all other Mediterranean countries to check upon Israel bound ships -in INTERNATIONAL WATERS- ?

LaoPo

If you check a warship belonging to a hostile nation you are risking a military response possibly escalating to war. The timing of the Iranian ships transit of the Suez canal was opportunistic as the whole middle east is in turmoil, Iran wanted the focus of Arab unrest to be directed towards Israel rather than towards internal national affairs so Israel kept a low profile at the time.

As for stopping a ship in international waters, well yes that's probably not stictly legal, similar to stopping a Somali pirate ship in international waters may not be. Perhaps Israel should have let the ship through and waited for long range rockets to land in it's cities in order to garner a muted international condemnation of resulting deaths in return.

[midas]

Set off from Syria eh? I wonder whether this is connected with what was aboard the two Iranian warships which recently docked in Syria.

Why didn't the Israeli check upon those 2 Iranian ships when they left the Suez canal, bound for Syria ?

And, is it also allowed for all other Mediterranean countries to check upon Israel bound ships -in INTERNATIONAL WATERS- ?

LaoPo

If you check a warship belonging to a hostile nation you are risking a military response possibly escalating to war. The timing of the Iranian ships transit of the Suez canal was opportunistic as the whole middle east is in turmoil, Iran wanted the focus of Arab unrest to be directed towards Israel rather than towards internal national affairs so Israel kept a low profile at the time.

As for stopping a ship in international waters, well yes that's probably not stictly legal, similar to stopping a Somali pirate ship in international waters may not be. Perhaps Israel should have let the ship through and waited for long range rockets to land in it's cities in order to garner a muted international condemnation of resulting deaths in return.

since when did Israel give a dam_n about adhering to International law about anything ?

[Steely Dan]

Set off from Syria eh? I wonder whether this is connected with what was aboard the two Iranian warships which recently docked in Syria.

Why didn't the Israeli check upon those 2 Iranian ships when they left the Suez canal, bound for Syria ?

And, is it also allowed for all other Mediterranean countries to check upon Israel bound ships -in INTERNATIONAL WATERS- ?

LaoPo

If you check a warship belonging to a hostile nation you are risking a military response possibly escalating to war. The timing of the Iranian ships transit of the Suez canal was opportunistic as the whole middle east is in turmoil, Iran wanted the focus of Arab unrest to be directed towards Israel rather than towards internal national affairs so Israel kept a low profile at the time.

As for stopping a ship in international waters, well yes that's probably not stictly legal, similar to stopping a Somali pirate ship in international waters may not be. Perhaps Israel should have let the ship through and waited for long range rockets to land in it's cities in order to garner a muted international condemnation of resulting deaths in return.

since when did Israel give a dam_n about adhering to International law about anything ?

Since the U.N became a proxy for the Arab league with it's block vote and capacity to enlist more 'support' with the carrot of oil supplies and lucrative arms deals. :jap:

[midas]

Since the U.N became a proxy for the Arab league with it's block vote and capacity to enlist more 'support' with the carrot of oil supplies and lucrative arms deals. :jap:

oh not more conspiracy theories

[chuckd]

Since the U.N became a proxy for the Arab league with it's block vote and capacity to enlist more 'support' with the carrot of oil supplies and lucrative arms deals. :jap:

oh not more conspiracy theories

It is amazing to me that, even when the Iranians, Syrians and Hamas are discovered with their collective hands in the cookie jar, it is still the fault of the Israelis.

[Steely Dan]

Since the U.N became a proxy for the Arab league with it's block vote and capacity to enlist more 'support' with the carrot of oil supplies and lucrative arms deals. :jap:

oh not more conspiracy theories

You should know about conspiracy theories if your recent posting history is anything to go by. What about the Israeli government sending mercenaries to Libya or staging the murder of a family in order to justify building of settlements?

[powderpuff]

When you receive intelligence you act on it.

The libs crap their pants & pull their hair out when arms to Palestine get intercepted under terms of the blockade.

Normally a blockade is an act of war too but Hamas don't have the nads for a fight. Killing women & kids is their style - (with rockets).

Ships get inspected & if no weapons & explosives are found the ships are allowed to carry on about their business. You know? like in a world ruled by logic not run by liberals.

[chuckd]

Set off from Syria eh? I wonder whether this is connected with what was aboard the two Iranian warships which recently docked in Syria.

Why didn't the Israeli check upon those 2 Iranian ships when they left the Suez canal, bound for Syria ?

And, is it also allowed for all other Mediterranean countries to check upon Israel bound ships -in INTERNATIONAL WATERS- ?

LaoPo

Perhaps the Israeli Navy did not check the frigate because the Egyptians claimed it was clean.

From the link...

"The US and Israeli navies did not stop the Iranian Alvand missile destroyer and Kharg logistical cruiser when they applied to transit the canal last month, asserting that they could not be stopped as they were not carrying contraband weapons. Egyptian Suez Canal officials made the same determination after reporting they had been inspected...."

I expect Israel knew the final destination of the cargo and simply made the wise decision to stop a cargo vessel rather than an Iranian Navy frigate. They were following the containers that came off the frigate, not the frigate itself.

[Ulysses G.]

oh not more conspiracy theories

Now THAT is irony.

[LaoPo]

Set off from Syria eh? I wonder whether this is connected with what was aboard the two Iranian warships which recently docked in Syria.

Why didn't the Israeli check upon those 2 Iranian ships when they left the Suez canal, bound for Syria ?

And, is it also allowed for all other Mediterranean countries to check upon Israel bound ships -in INTERNATIONAL WATERS- ?

LaoPo

Perhaps the Israeli Navy did not check the frigate because the Egyptians claimed it was clean.

From the link...

"The US and Israeli navies did not stop the Iranian Alvand missile destroyer and Kharg logistical cruiser when they applied to transit the canal last month, asserting that they could not be stopped as they were not carrying contraband weapons. Egyptian Suez Canal officials made the same determination after reporting they had been inspected...."

I expect Israel knew the final destination of the cargo and simply made the wise decision to stop a cargo vessel rather than an Iranian Navy frigate. They were following the containers that came off the frigate, not the frigate itself.

So Steely Dan's question that the weapons, now found in the cargo vessel, came from the Iranian ships doesn't hold ground since I didn't read the weapons came from those 2 Iranian waraships; it was a question, not a fact.

And you Chuckd, also speculate, writing: "I expect Israel knew the final destination of the cargo....." and, at the same time accusing the Egyptians that they knew -and thus lied- the Iranian ships had weapons for Syria on board.

Speaking about wild conspiracies and theories..........

LaoPo

[powderpuff]

It's too bad for the people of Iran that their rulers are a bunch of bloodthirsty despots.

Edited March 16, 2011 by powderpuff

[powderpuff]

Peace in the Middle east? Not gonna happen as long as the mullahs are running Iran.

[bangkokeddy]

Palestinians: Three killed in Israel air strike on Gaza

Palestinian medical officials say Israel fired two missiles at a security compound in the Hamas-ruled Strip, striking what used to be the Israeli settlement of Netzarim in Gaza.

By Avi Issacharoff, Anshel Pfeffer and News Agencies

Israeli warplanes fired two missiles at a security compound in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Wednesday, killing three Palestinians and wounding four, Palestinian medical officials said.

The Israeli military confirmed the airstrike, saying they had hit two terror targets in central Gaza. The airstrike came as a response to rocket fire into Israel earlier in the day, apparently referring to a rocket that had landed in Sderot, causing no casualties or damage.

...

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/palestinians-three-killed-in-israel-air-strike-on-gaza-1.349555

[kuffki]

Palestinians: Three killed in Israel air strike on Gaza

Palestinian medical officials say Israel fired two missiles at a security compound in the Hamas-ruled Strip, striking what used to be the Israeli settlement of Netzarim in Gaza.

By Avi Issacharoff, Anshel Pfeffer and News Agencies

Israeli warplanes fired two missiles at a security compound in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Wednesday, killing three Palestinians and wounding four, Palestinian medical officials said.

The Israeli military confirmed the airstrike, saying they had hit two terror targets in central Gaza. The airstrike came as a response to rocket fire into Israel earlier in the day, apparently referring to a rocket that had landed in Sderot, causing no casualties or damage.

...

http://www.haaretz.c...n-gaza-1.349555

Interesting post.

GAZA (BNO NEWS) -- Israeli aircraft on Wednesday targeted a suspected terror activity site in the central Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. Media in Gaza said two Palestinians were killed.

The IDF said it carried out the airstrike in response to a projectile being fired at the Sdot Negev Regional Council on Wednesday morning, causing no casualties. The IDF did not identify what it was targeting, although the Palestine News and Info Agency WAFA said a Hamas training camp was hit by two missiles.

[kuffki]

"The commandos found booklets explaining how to use the missile in Farsi – further proof that

the missiles originated in Iran.

""The missile is made in China and it is in the possession of the Iranians, and this adds to suspicions that it came from Iran,"

"The IDF released pictures showing mortar shells inside crates, as well as the C-704 missiles with the word "Nasr" written on them.Nasr is what Iran calls the missile."

Yeah bad Israel for stopping the cargo aimed at killing civilians and of course it did not come from Iran and was not destined to Hammas or someone alike.

Egyptian security officials on Tuesday said that Egypt's army captured five vehicles smuggling weapons into the country from Sudan, and apparently heading to Gaza, AP reported.

They said the trucks, which were captured inside Egypt near the Sudanese border, carried large quantities of mortars, rocket propelled grenades, rifles and explosives, reported AP.

The officials said the weapons were headed to Hamas in Gaza through smuggling tunnels.

Good to see Hammas is preparing for peace talks and clearly cares about the well being of its people, i guess that would explain where all the money goes

Edited March 16, 2011 by kuffki

[midas]

Peace in the Middle east? Not gonna happen as long as the mullahs are running Iran.

or Israel ignoring international law

[Ulysses G.]

Or Hamas and Iran for that matter.

[kuffki]

Or Hamas and Iran for that matter.

Oh but its ok for them, just not ok for Israel

[LaoPo]

It's too bad for the people of Iran that their rulers are a bunch of bloodthirsty despots.

I couldn't agree more; the people want freedom and hopefully it's a matter of time for them to get rid of the rulers in the government.

LaoPo

[chuckd]

Set off from Syria eh? I wonder whether this is connected with what was aboard the two Iranian warships which recently docked in Syria.

Why didn't the Israeli check upon those 2 Iranian ships when they left the Suez canal, bound for Syria ?

And, is it also allowed for all other Mediterranean countries to check upon Israel bound ships -in INTERNATIONAL WATERS- ?

LaoPo

Perhaps the Israeli Navy did not check the frigate because the Egyptians claimed it was clean.

From the link...

"The US and Israeli navies did not stop the Iranian Alvand missile destroyer and Kharg logistical cruiser when they applied to transit the canal last month, asserting that they could not be stopped as they were not carrying contraband weapons. Egyptian Suez Canal officials made the same determination after reporting they had been inspected...."

I expect Israel knew the final destination of the cargo and simply made the wise decision to stop a cargo vessel rather than an Iranian Navy frigate. They were following the containers that came off the frigate, not the frigate itself.

So Steely Dan's question that the weapons, now found in the cargo vessel, came from the Iranian ships doesn't hold ground since I didn't read the weapons came from those 2 Iranian waraships; it was a question, not a fact.

And you Chuckd, also speculate, writing: "I expect Israel knew the final destination of the cargo....." and, at the same time accusing the Egyptians that they knew -and thus lied- the Iranian ships had weapons for Syria on board.

Speaking about wild conspiracies and theories..........

LaoPo

It isn't my fault you didn't read about the cargo coming from the two Iranian ships...

"The Liberian-flagged vessel was carrying a large consignment of weapons including C-704 shore-to-ship missiles with a range of 35 kilometers and heavy mortars shells bound for the Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza Strip. debkafile reports the consignment was picked up at the Syrian port of Latakia after being offloaded there by the two Iranian warships which transited the Suez Canal February 22."

WAIT....There is more you didn't read.

"....Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the voyage was no more harmful than a "cadets' outing."

debkafile alone reported the Iranian warships were carrying missiles

It now turns out that the clean bill of health they all gave the Iranian warships was not based on fact.

At the same time, debkafile's military sources report that from the time that the Iranian navy ships entered the Mediterranean, US and Israeli warships and spy planes kept their movements under close surveillance: Around Feb. 25-26, the Kharg was seen offloading a large batch of containers at Syrian Navy ordnance depots in Latakia port.

In the second half of last week, the German A.S Victoria docked there and was seen loading the containers delivered by the Iranian warships at Latakia.

It now appears that the ship was instructed to detour to the Turkish port and wait there for a couple of days to disguise its real destination."

Do you believe Egyptians would NOT lie?

[LaoPo]

So Steely Dan's question that the weapons, now found in the cargo vessel, came from the Iranian ships doesn't hold ground since I didn't read the weapons came from those 2 Iranian waraships; it was a question, not a fact.

And you Chuckd, also speculate, writing: "I expect Israel knew the final destination of the cargo....." and, at the same time accusing the Egyptians that they knew -and thus lied- the Iranian ships had weapons for Syria on board.

Speaking about wild conspiracies and theories..........

LaoPo

It isn't my fault you didn't read about the cargo coming from the two Iranian ships...

"The Liberian-flagged vessel was carrying a large consignment of weapons including C-704 shore-to-ship missiles with a range of 35 kilometers and heavy mortars shells bound for the Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza Strip. debkafile reports the consignment was picked up at the Syrian port of Latakia after being offloaded there by the two Iranian warships which transited the Suez Canal February 22."

WAIT....There is more you didn't read.

"....Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the voyage was no more harmful than a "cadets' outing."

debkafile alone reported the Iranian warships were carrying missiles

It now turns out that the clean bill of health they all gave the Iranian warships was not based on fact.

At the same time, debkafile's military sources report that from the time that the Iranian navy ships entered the Mediterranean, US and Israeli warships and spy planes kept their movements under close surveillance: Around Feb. 25-26, the Kharg was seen offloading a large batch of containers at Syrian Navy ordnance depots in Latakia port.

In the second half of last week, the German A.S Victoria docked there and was seen loading the containers delivered by the Iranian warships at Latakia.

It now appears that the ship was instructed to detour to the Turkish port and wait there for a couple of days to disguise its real destination."

Do you believe Egyptians would NOT lie?

Please provide a link if you quote from articles.

And, to answer your question: of course I can imagine the Egyptians can lie.....

Do you believe Israeli would NOT lie ?

What surprises me in this weapons' story is that it would be so bloody obvious, absurd and transparent if the Iranians would transport weapons -bound for Hamas- on their 2 warships via the Suez Canal that it is almost unbelievable.

Sending those weapons via another 3rd country in containers in a normal vessel would be far more logical; after all, weapons cost a lot of money and even Hamas and Iran would not be very happy to lose such an important shipment of weaponry.

I could even think about shipping the same weaponry via Turkey, over land in trucks and than board a vessel, bound for Egypt; Turkey for a large part depending on Iranian oil, is very opportunistic where it concerns their views upon Iran and the relations with Israel are not that comfortable lately since Israeli commandos killed 9 people on the so called Gaza Flotilla in May 2010, including 8 Turkish members.

But, the last option is just a thought for a possibility to ship weaponry of course, but WHY on earth take the very risky route via the Suez Canal with 2 War ships ?

But, the world isn't without wonders...still.

LaoPo

[chuckd]

Please provide a link if you quote from articles.

And, to answer your question: of course I can imagine the Egyptians can lie.....

Do you believe Israeli would NOT lie ?

What surprises me in this weapons' story is that it would be so bloody obvious, absurd and transparent if the Iranians would transport weapons -bound for Hamas- on their 2 warships via the Suez Canal that it is almost unbelievable.

Sending those weapons via another 3rd country in containers in a normal vessel would be far more logical; after all, weapons cost a lot of money and even Hamas and Iran would not be very happy to lose such an important shipment of weaponry.

I could even think about shipping the same weaponry via Turkey, over land in trucks and than board a vessel, bound for Egypt; Turkey for a large part depending on Iranian oil, is very opportunistic where it concerns their views upon Iran and the relations with Israel are not that comfortable lately since Israeli commandos killed 9 people on the so called Gaza Flotilla in May 2010, including 8 Turkish members.

But, the last option is just a thought for a possibility to ship weaponry of course, but WHY on earth take the very risky route via the Suez Canal with 2 War ships ?

But, the world isn't without wonders...still.

LaoPo

1. "Please provide a link if you quote from articles."...See post number 5, page one of this thread.

2. The method and route of shipment is perfectly logical. Nobody is going to try and board an armed ship of war from any country, therefore the shipment will not be inspected regardless of what Egypt might claim.

3. It is highly unlikely Turkey would permit the use of their land and ports for ground transport to deliver the weapons. They don't particularly like Israel but they are not suicidal. Syria, on the other hand, is perfectly clueless and can be used by the Iranians for this purpose.

4. A shipment this large over land would take several large trucks or a slew of small ones running in convoy, which would also raise flags that something was going on.

5. The only ground route they could have taken was to truck the weapons to Lebanon through Syria, again raising the chances of this nefarious scheme being discovered. How they were going to deliver them from Lebanon to Hamas is another problem and is likely impossible without being discovered.

6. By going with the military option to Syria, then transferring them to a commercial cargo ship for delivery to Egypt and then Hamas through the tunnel system is, far and away, the best route for the Iranians to take to secure delivery.

7. The 'eyes-in-the-sky' just caught them, this time.

[bangkokeddy]

http://www.debka.com/article/20768/

Israeli navy intercepts vessel carrying arms delivered by Iranian warships

DEBKAfile Special Report March 15, 2011, 4:08 PM (GMT+02:00) Tags: arms shipment Egypt Hamas Iranian warships Israeli naval commandos Heavy mortar shell in A.S. Victoria weapons cargoThe Israeli Navy's elite Shayetet 13

...

Debka.com

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

DEBKAfile (Hebrew: תיק דבקה‎) is a Jerusalem-based English language Israeli open source military intelligence website with commentary and analyses on terrorism, intelligence, security, and military and political affairs in the Middle East. The word "Debka" refers to an Arab folk dance.[1]

The site started in the summer of 2000, and is operated from the Jerusalem home of veteran journalists Giora Shamis and Diane Shalem.[1] It has been awarded Forbes' Best of the Web award.[2] Forbes identifies the best part of the website as being its archives, but decries the fact that "most of the information is attributed to unidentified sources."

Wired.com's Noah Shachtman wrote in 2001 that the site "clearly reports with a point of view; the site is unabashedly in the hawkish camp of Israeli politics," adding that Debka had partnered with the right-wing news site WorldNetDaily for a weekly subscription product.[3] Yediot Achronot investigative reporter Ronen Bergman states that the site relies on information from sources with an agenda, such as neo-conservative elements of the US Republican Party, "whose worldview is that the situation is bad and is only going to get worse," and that Israeli intelligence officials do not consider even 10 percent of the site's content to be reliable.[1] Cornell Law professor Michael C. Dorf calls Debka his "favorite alarmist Israeli website trading in rumors."[4]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debka.com

[LaoPo]

Please provide a link if you quote from articles.

And, to answer your question: of course I can imagine the Egyptians can lie.....

Do you believe Israeli would NOT lie ?

What surprises me in this weapons' story is that it would be so bloody obvious, absurd and transparent if the Iranians would transport weapons -bound for Hamas- on their 2 warships via the Suez Canal that it is almost unbelievable.

Sending those weapons via another 3rd country in containers in a normal vessel would be far more logical; after all, weapons cost a lot of money and even Hamas and Iran would not be very happy to lose such an important shipment of weaponry.

I could even think about shipping the same weaponry via Turkey, over land in trucks and than board a vessel, bound for Egypt; Turkey for a large part depending on Iranian oil, is very opportunistic where it concerns their views upon Iran and the relations with Israel are not that comfortable lately since Israeli commandos killed 9 people on the so called Gaza Flotilla in May 2010, including 8 Turkish members.

But, the last option is just a thought for a possibility to ship weaponry of course, but WHY on earth take the very risky route via the Suez Canal with 2 War ships ?

But, the world isn't without wonders...still.

LaoPo

1. "Please provide a link if you quote from articles."...See post number 5, page one of this thread.

2. The method and route of shipment is perfectly logical. Nobody is going to try and board an armed ship of war from any country, therefore the shipment will not be inspected regardless of what Egypt might claim.

3. It is highly unlikely Turkey would permit the use of their land and ports for ground transport to deliver the weapons. They don't particularly like Israel but they are not suicidal. Syria, on the other hand, is perfectly clueless and can be used by the Iranians for this purpose.

4. A shipment this large over land would take several large trucks or a slew of small ones running in convoy, which would also raise flags that something was going on.

5. The only ground route they could have taken was to truck the weapons to Lebanon through Syria, again raising the chances of this nefarious scheme being discovered. How they were going to deliver them from Lebanon to Hamas is another problem and is likely impossible without being discovered.

6. By going with the military option to Syria, then transferring them to a commercial cargo ship for delivery to Egypt and then Hamas through the tunnel system is, far and away, the best route for the Iranians to take to secure delivery.

7. The 'eyes-in-the-sky' just caught them, this time.

Thanks for the link.

I'm not familiar with publications by DEBKAfile*, never heard of them before (published in English and Hebrew), but they seem pretty well informed but even DEBKAfile couldn't tell whether the weapons were for Hamas or Radical Egyptian Muslims OR..............................Libyan rebels **

Your other explanations sound very logical.

However, when I would follow all of your logics I question HOW Hamas got their weaponry during the time BEFORE the 2 war ships....since it was a long time ago that Iranian war ships sailed throught he Suez Canal as you know.

* DEBKAfile was founded by a team of journalists in June 2000 as an independent Internet Web site, providing an intelligence and security news service.

We pioneered intensive news coverage and analysis of global terror before it hit the front pages as the looming threat to world security.

From: http://www.debka.com/about/

** But after learning that the arms were bound for El Arish, in northern Sinai, Israel decided to apprehend the cargo before it could be delivered, whether to Hamas in Gaza or radical Egyptian Muslims, which Iran has been backing and funding.

or even for Libyan rebels:

DEBKAfile's intelligence sources report that several boats loaded with arms for the Libyan rebels sailed out of Mercin in the last few days. They were bound for the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

It was decided in Jerusalem that whatever the destination of the Iranian weapons cargo may be, severing this link in Iran's new weapons smuggling route was absolutely essential.

http://www.debka.com/article/20768/

LaoPo