5 November 2009 / REUTERS, JERUSALEM
The Israeli navy intercepted a cargo ship carrying weapons some 100 miles (160 kilometers) off the Israeli coast in the Mediterranean Sea and took it to a port in Israel, the military said on Wednesday.
Unconfirmed Israeli media reports described the vessel as a container ship and said its cargo included missiles and other munitions from Iran destined for Syria or Lebanon’s Hezbullah guerrilla group, which fought a 2006 war with Israel. “During the night, the navy, performing routine checks, spotted a cargo vessel flying an Antiguan flag 100 miles from the Israeli coast,” a military spokeswoman said. “They suspected it was carrying weapons, and after an initial inspection, munitions were found. The ship was taken to shore,” the spokeswoman said. Military sources said the vessel was docked at Israel’s Mediterranean port of Ashdod, south of Tel Aviv. Israel’s Channel 10 television said Israel had advance information about the vessel. Military sources said naval commandos stormed the ship in international waters. Israeli officials have said Hezbullah has been rearming since the 2006 conflict, in which the group fired some 4,000 rockets into Israel.
