The Israel Navy intercepted the cargo ship "Victoria" loaded with weaponry, 200 miles west of the Israel's coast, as part of the Navy's routine operations against arms smuggling. The ship is Liberian flagged and German owned, and the shipping company is French. The crew gave no resistance. The IDF believes that the arms originated in Syria and were intended for terrorist organizations in Gaza.
The Navy is escorting the ship to an Israeli port for further searches and detailed inspection of the cargo. The crew will be questioned.
The ship was travelling from Mersin in Turkey to Alexandria in Egypt. The IDF says that Turkey is not tied to the incident in any way.
The IDF and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs notified Germany, France, and Liberia about the interception of the "Victoria".
The IDF said that it will continue its intelligence and operational activities in order to maintain Israel's security interests and prevent arms smuggling that will fuel the terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
Minister of Defense Ehud Barak commended the IDF action. He said, "Today, the IDF and its fighters thwarted the smuggling of weaponry - which was due to have been used against the residents of Israel - to the Gaza Strip. The goal of the smuggling was to harm the security of Israel. The IDF acted in order to defend the security of the country. The attempt to smuggle weaponry to Gaza shows that radical elements are continuing in their attempts to attack Israel and undermine regional stability."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 15, 2011
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