Lieberman: Arms ship more than smoking gun
Following capture of Francop ship carrying containers of weapons believed to be destined for Hezbollah, foreign minister summons foreign ambassadors to Ashdod Port to see for themselves the 'lethal weapons meant entirely to be aimed at civilians'
Israel has launched a PR battle following the takeover of the Francop arms ship at the heart of sea. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman instructed all foreign ambassadors be summoned to the Ashdod Port to see the containers of weapons that were seized on their way to Syria – and from their on to Hezbollah.
"The crew's questioning, the documents and our intelligence prove above and beyond all doubt that the ship contained weapons destined for Hezbollah," Lieberman told Ynet.
When asked if the ship was really the "smoking gun" that proves weapons were being delivered from Iran to Hezbollah, the foreign minister said, "There is more than a smoking gun here. Here we have, unfortunately, a gun that is firing. It is firing in Afghanistan, it is firing in Pakistan, it is firing in Iraq, it is firing in Gaza and it is firing in south Lebanon.
The Francop nearing Ashdod Port (Photo: Reuters)
"We saw the Katyusha that was fired at Kiryat Shmona in recent weeks. We saw the test of the rocket that is meant to hit civilian population in central Israel."
When asked how certain Israel is that the weapons on the ship were indeed intended for Hezbollah, Lieberman said, "Above and beyond all doubt. We have been following this shop and we have seen how many attempts the Iranians, the Syrians and Hezbollah have made to hide it.
"They changed their route, moved from one ship to another; there is more than irrefutable evidence that it was destined for Hezbollah. Everything, including documents."
'Syria integral part of axis of evil'
Lieberman admitted that "we certainly cannot hermetically block all smuggling efforts 100%. Only some of the things are made public. We are doing everything we can, everything that we must do."Is it 100%? No. The Iranians continue with their efforts to aid terror. They also continue to smuggle weapons, and to fund terror organizations, and develop weapons for their missile system, and even their nuclear system."
When asked what the Francop affair says about Syria and its involvement in smuggling weapons to terror organizations, Lieberman said, "There is no doubt that Syria chose to side with terror. It is connected to the axis of evil, with North Korea, Iran and Venezuela. It is an integral part of the axis of evil.
"It is clear that the Syrians are capable of almost completely preventing arms smuggling to south Lebanon, but each and every day they do the exact opposite. That is why I believe there is no room for illusions here."
After it was unloaded, the ship left the Ashdod Port. The foreign minister said that he had called all foreign ambassadors to Ashdod "so that they may see the lethal weapons meant entirely to be aimed at a civilian population. We are focusing on many talks with foreign ministers and heads of state in this matter.
"I think that the nations of the free world understand the dilemmas. This is because even today a large part of NATO troops are in countries such as Afghanistan. They understand the situation Israel is in. They are facing the same problems. I saw the press conference by US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton in Pakistan, who is faced with the exact same problems and accusations made against US soldiers."
On Goldstone Report: 'Focus on moral majority'
On the fight against the Goldstone Report Lieberman said, "It should be understand that what has been created in the international community today is that on the one hand there is an automatic majority, which includes countries such as Bangladesh, Cuba, Saudi Arabia and Nicaragua, that set the tone in the Human Rights Council, countries that are 'completely committed to freedom of expression and democracy, and humanitarian values' – this is the automatic majority that always votes against us.
On the other hand, there is the moral majority that really does try to nurture and maintain humanitarian and democratic values."
The foreign minister stressed that: "We are committed to explaining ourselves and focusing on the moral majority. It seems working with the automatic majority is a long and difficult road. But the moral majority includes those countries that truly understand the dilemmas of fighting terror. Therefore our position can be explained."
Regarding Israeli PR in the world, Lieberman said, "The Goldstone Report is not at the center of public attention, not in Europe, and not in the United States. Obviously, these countries and the international community have much more complex problems, such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, and North Korea.
"What to do? I've said it dozens of times, our obstacles in every capital are difficult."
He said, "If you take for example our situation in London. We have an embassy there that does wonderful work, but on the other hand there are 23 embassies of Arab-Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain. They have no budgetary limits. They have no transparent policies like we do. They use all of this against us."
The foreign minister added, "It should be understood that there is a hypocrisy fest the likes of which we have never seen." Giving Kuwait as an example, he said, "What they did to the Palestinians there, is really something that can be called a war crime, a crime against humanity. Let those Kuwaitis examine their behavior, how they treated the Palestinians."
