PM: UN must probe arms ship war crime
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praises defense establishment for capture of Francop ship carrying weapons destined for Hezbollah, says 'UN should investigate these war crimes. Instead it convenes to condemn Israel'
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday praised the heads of the military and defense establishment for their successful operation that led to the seizure of an arms ship and foiled the smuggling of hundreds of tons of weapons from Iran to Hezbollah.
Speaking at the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu said, "I would like to praise (Defense Minister Ehud) Barak, the chief of staff, the Military Intelligence chief, and the Navy commander, who carried out a very important operation.
"The ship was loaded with a massive amount of weapons, and was destined for Hezbollah. The purpose of the rockets was to kill as many civilians as possible. This is a war crime and the UN should investigate this. It's a crime that the Iranian regime planned to enable attacks," he said.
The prime minister added, "The UN should investigate these war crimes. Instead, the UN convenes to condemn Israel. This will not deter us. I expect the responsible bodies in the international community to condemn the real war crimes."
Defense Minister Ehud Barak then said, "We are proud of our men and women in uniform and we put our trust in them. There are no illusions. Smuggling efforts will continue. The IDF will continue to counter them. This is our duty and responsibility."
IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazy also spoke, saying the seizure of the ship was part of an extensive battle.
The chief of staff said: "I would like to express my appreciation to the Navy memebers and to the Mossad members. Without them the intelligence would not have been this accurate."
'Smuggling in the air, at sea, and on land'
Military Intelligence chief Major-General Amos Yadlin said, "This is just one example of Iran's octopus arms. There are a lot of terrorists in training in Iran. Smuggling is carried out in the air, at sea and on land."
On Wednesday, Navy commando forces took over the Francop vessel near Cyprus, and led It to the Ashdod Port, where it was found to be carrying over 3,000 missiles and various shells, as well as thousands of other weapons items.
The cargo that was destined for Hezbollah was hidden between thousands of white sacks of Polyethylene, a thermoplastic substance meant to camouflage the content.
Each sack weighed some 25 kilograms. The crates were found to contain 106 mm shells, 107 mm and 122 mm rockets, hand grenades, mortar shells, antitank missiles and ammunition for Kalashnikov rifles.
Despite the scope of the affair, it failed to make waves around the world, and foreign media made very little mention of the matter.
Some report even expressed doubt that the weapons were indeed intended for Hezbollah. Meanwhile, the Shiite organization denied all ties to the arms.
As a PR move, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman summoned all foreign ambassadors to the Ashdod Port Thursday morning to see for themselves the thousands of weapons unloaded from the ship.
Once the cargo was unloaded, the ship was sent on its way.
