As
Israel Fights For Democracy, Self-Defense At Goldstone UN, Iran
Terror Ship Captured
Joel
Leyden
Israel News Agency
Jerusalem
---- November 4, 2009 ..... As members of the US Congress were
voting 344-36 for Resolution 867, which calls on US President
Obama and Secretary of State Clinton "to oppose any endorsement
or further consideration of the 'Goldstone Report of the United
Nations Israel Gaza War Crimes Fact Finding Mission', IDF Navy
commandos were preparing to set foot on an Iran terror weapons
ship.
About 100
miles off the Israel Mediterranean coast, IDF troops were opening
up dozens of Iran camouflaged cargo containers carrying about
500 tons of weapons bound for Hezbollah.
The Antigua
flagged ship, the Francop, was brought into the Israel port of
Ashdod in coordination with nearby NATO war ships.
"In a
random check of the containers we found a variety of weaponry
camouflaged as civilian goods," Israel Defense Forces Gen.
Ben Yehuda said. "Clearly these weapons are for terror purposes.
There is no doubt they came from Iran, and were headed through
Syria to Hezbollah."
Ben Yehuda
said that the Iran ship contained about 300 containers, 40 of
which contained weapons, which documents on board the ship showed
as having originated in the Iran port of Bandar Abbas and were
bound for Syria.
Gen. Ben Yehuda
said that the ship had picked up the weapons in the Egypt port
city of Damietta, and was due to make stops in the Cypriot port
of Limassol, in Beirut, and in the Syrian port city of Latakia.
Gen. Yehud did not say how the cargo had arrived from Iran to
Damietta.
"The
Mossad has the capacity to watch these weapons being produced
in Iran and then being trucked to a sea port from the sky, the
sea and from the ground" said an Israel security analyst.
"They know who is making what and where it is going. They
know what they ate for breakfast and when they took a piss. This
ship was tracked as soon as it became engaged by Iran and Israel
will use these weapons now for its own self-defense."
In spite of
a YouTube video which was released and clearly shows both the
ship and the Iran weapons, Syria Foreign Minister Walid Moalim
called the Israel commandos "pirates" and denied the
ship was carrying weapons in televised comments made during a
visit to Tehran today. The contraband was concealed among sacks
of Iran made polyethylene plastics in cargo containers labeled
"IRISL: Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines."
The Iran weapons
uncovered at sea last night constitute a harsh violation of UN
Security Council Resolutions 1747 and 1701 that strictly forbid
Iran from exporting or trading any form of weapons.
The ship
is owned by a German company and based in Cyprus.
The IDF stated
that the amount of weapons found was 10 times larger than the
Karin A terror ship intercepted in January 2002 which was carrying
50 tons of Iran weapons to Hamas in Gaza.
Israel President
Shimon Peres responded: "Iran had promised it would not send
weapons, and broke international law. The importance of the ship's
capture is enormous and has political value as well. Therefore
it is a political event and the seizure is a military accomplishment."
Israel Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the weapons discovered
on board the ship were intended to harm Israel cities and towns.
Moreover, he praised the operation congratulating the Israel army,
the navy, and other security agencies involved on the successful
counter-terrorist operation.
Among the
seized weapons from Iran on display were Katyusha rockets, mortars,
hand grenades and crates of ammunition for Kalashnikov rifles.
The raid comes
a day after the IDF intelligence chief warned that, despite months
of relative calm on Israel's borders, Hezbollah and Hamas are
both stockpiling Iran and Syria arms.
Both Israel
and the US are very well prepared for a war with Iran. Last week,
Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu visited the combined IDF and United
States Command exercise, Juniper Cobra.
"This
exercise, unique and large in scale, is an expression of the meaningful
relations between Israel and the United States" said Netanyahu.
In regards
to the Iran terror weapons ship, Netanyahu today said: "The
time has come for the international community to apply real pressure
on Iran to cease these criminal operations and give backing to
Israel when it defends itself against the terrorists and their
sponsors."
Meanwhile,
3,000 miles away in New York the Arab oil rich states continue
with their PR war of words. The UN General Assembly began debate
on the Goldstone Report
of the United Nations which found Israel guilty of serious
human rights violations during Israel's defensive war with Hamas
in Gaza.
The report
is the result of a three-month, one sided, biased investigation,
led by Justice Richard Goldstone.
Many human
rights professionals including former United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights Mary Robinson see through the political transparency.
"I am afraid the resolution is not balanced," said Robinson.
"This is unfortunately a practice by the Council: adopting
resolutions guided not by human rights but by politics. This is
very regrettable."
Israel has
stated that it is "appalled and disappointed" by the
UN Goldstone Report which was published on September 15, 2009
by the UN Gaza Fact Finding Mission. "The UN Goldstone Report
effectively ignores Israel right of self defense, makes unsubstantiated
claims about its intent and challenges Israel's democratic values
and rule of law."
"Iran
is begging for a war with Israel to cover up for their severe
domestic problems of poverty, unemployment and a lack of human
rights," says the Israel security analyst.
"The
weapons already provided to Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in
Gaza from Iran amount to an arsenal ready to last for a few months
of war. What the capture of this ship represents is small as to
what weapons already exist in Lebanon. If anything, the seizure
of this terror ship should say to the supporters of the Goldstone
Report in the UN General Assembly that Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah
are not interested in peace. That this lethal cargo does not represent
'a right to resist' when it's victims were intended to be Jewish
Israel citizens and Arab Christian citizens in Lebanon who are
now being occupied by both Iran and Syria."