War (of Words) with Syria
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Thursday, May 22, 2003
[I caught this story at the Jerusalem Post web site, but don't have an account set up there.]
Israel claims to intercept Palestinian arms shipment at sea
Al Bawaba -- May 22
22-05-2003, 14:04
Israeli naval commandos intercepted on Wednesday a fishing boat, dubbed "Abu Hassan", loaded with weapons directed from Lebanon to Palestinian fighters. The boat was seized some 160 kilometers off the northern Israeli coast, Israeli military sources claimed Thursday, according to Israel Radio.
Five more articles linked ...
Israel 'seizes Hezbollah boat'
BBC -- May 22
The Israelis say they have seized a ship carrying weapons for Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
The raid took place on Wednesday in international waters off the Lebanese and Israeli coast, it is reported.
Nine people are said to have been arrested, including a member of Hezbollah, and the boat was towed back to the Israeli port of Haifa.
Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said the arms were being transported from Lebanon to Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.
He added that the incident showed that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was behind terror operations.
"There is no doubt that those involved in the affair are very close to Arafat," he told Israeli television.
"This is not the first time."
Last year, Israel intercepted a 50-tonne shipment of Iranian weapons, which was destined for Palestinian militants, in the Red Sea.
Israeli sources say the current cache is much smaller than that.
Hezbollah officials in Beirut declined to comment.
Israeli navy intercepts suspicious vessel
AP via Helena Independent Record -- May 22
TEL AVIV, Israel - The Israeli military said Thursday it intercepted a suspicious vessel in the Mediterranean, west of its port city of Haifa, and media reports said a member of the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah was on board.
The military said "suspicious objects" were found on board, including "evidence of transfer of know-how and directives for carrying out terror attacks."
Israel's Channel One television reported the Israeli navy intercepted the boat Wednesday night on its way from Lebanon to the Gaza Strip. The boat was carrying a Hezbollah operative and the operation was planned by the Palestinian Authority, the television reported.
Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said the incident was another example that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was behind terror operations.
"There is no doubt that those involved in the affair are very close to Arafat," he told Channel One. "This is not the first time."
Last year, Israel intercepted a ship, the Karine A, carrying 50 tons of weapons through the Red Sea, reportedly destined for the Palestinian Authority. The weapons included machine guns, rockets, mortars and explosives, all banned under interim peace deals with Israel.
Describing the new ship, Shalom said: "We are talking about another attempt to smuggle weapons from Lebanon to the coasts of Gaza."
He said he was uncertain whether new Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas was involved.
Israel arrests Hezbollah man aboard boat headed for Gaza
Ha'aretz -- May 22
By Amos Harel and Arnon Regular, Haaretz Correspondents, and Agencies
Israel's navy seized a fishing boat Tuesday carrying a Hezbollah activist and weaponry and weapon-making equipment, believed to be heading for the Gaza Strip.
Hezbollah terror-supply boat seized
Israeli navy finds rocket fuses, bombmaking devices on board
WorldNetDaily -- May 22
Israeli naval commandos seized a fishing boat from Lebanon carrying Hezbollah operatives and loaded with rocket fuses, electronic bombmaking devices and instructions on putting together explosives belts for suicide bombings, according to Israeli newspapers.
'Bomb expert' seized on fishing boat off Israel
The Independent -- May 23
By Eric Silver in Jerusalem
The Israeli navy arrested an alleged Hizbollah bomb-making expert on a fishing boat sailing down the coast from Lebanon to Gaza, a military spokesman said yesterday.
[Syria seems to be cooling off, and Iran seems to be heating up.]
U.S. traces Saudi blasts to Iran
New York Times via International Herald Tribune -- May 22
Douglas Jehl with Eric Schmitt
WASHINGTON The United States has intercepted communications strongly suggesting that a small cell of Al Qaeda leaders in Iran directed the terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia last week, and Washington is sending a strong protest to the Tehran government, according to senior Bush administration officials
More articles linked ...
U.S. tells Iran not to support al-Qaida
By Anwar Iqbal
WASHINGTON, May 21 (UPI) -- The United States has urged Tehran to stop supporting al-Qaida operatives who it says are working out of Iran, officials said Wednesday.
U.S. Asks Iran to Crack Down on Qaeda Leaders Believed There -- NYT
By DOUGLAS JEHL
WASHINGTON, May 21 — The Bush administration reiterated its belief today that senior Al Qaeda leaders were in Iran and called on the Tehran government to act against them.
"Whether they are there with permission, not with permission, or what, it's the responsibility of the government to prevent those kind of people from coming to their country," the State Department spokesman, Richard Boucher, said.
Mutual terror accusations halt U.S.-Iran talks
By Barbara Slavin, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — A fledgling dialogue between Iran and the United States has broken down over mutual accusations of support for terrorism, U.S. and Iranian officials said Wednesday.
U.S. Accuses Iran of Harboring al-Qaida
Wednesday May 21, 2003 10:19 PM
By BARRY SCHWEID
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration on Wednesday accused Iran of harboring al-Qaida members and said Iranian leaders had a responsibility to prevent terrorists from entering and operating in the country.
``There's no question but that there have been and are today senior al-Qaida leaders in Iran, and they are busy'' plotting attacks, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said.