Iran’s gift to Gaza terrorists: 40 missiles, 181 mortar shells and 400,000 bullets |
Israel set to reveal to world the weaponry that Iran attempted to send to Gaza terror groups on Klos C ship that was intercepted last week in Red Sea • IDF official: The M-302 missiles would have given Hamas and Islamic Jihad strategic capability.
A panamai zászló alatt hajózó „Klos-C” hétfőn reggel még az eilati kikötőben horgonyzott. Távozásának napja nem ismeretes, de úgy tűnik, nem tartóztatják hosszú ideig. A török személyzet kihallgatása befejeződött. Továbbra is úgy vélik, hogy nem tudták, valójában mit szállít a hajó.
Lilach Shoval, Shlomo Cesana, Eli Leon, Dan Lavie and Israel Hayom Staff
A missile and mortar shells found aboard the Klos C ship
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Photo credit: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit |
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Prime Minister Benajmin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon and Israeli Navy Commander Vice Adm. Ram Rothberg were scheduled to hold a press conference Monday at the Eilat Port to present the Gaza-bound weaponry found aboard the Klos C ship, which was intercepted by the navy last week in the Red Sea.
The ship was carrying:
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40 Syrian-made M-302 missiles with a 90-to-160 kilometer (60-to-100 mile) range
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181 mortar shells, 120 mm caliber
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About 400,000 bullets, 7.62 mm caliber
Soldiers from Yahalom, the Israel Defense Forces combat engineering unit for special operations, began unpacking the ship’s cargo on Saturday afternoon. After unloading and removing the weapons, the containers were returned to the ship’s hold.
Credit: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit
The 17 crew members of the Klos C have been questioned by Military Intelligence personnel. It was expected that the ship, along with its crew, would be released and allowed to depart on Monday.
Military attaches, ambassadors and members of the press from around the world were expected to come to the presentation of the seized weapons on Monday. During the presentation, the weapons Iran was trying to send to Gaza terror groups will be displayed and the means of hiding the weapons will be explained in an effort to show the world that Iran, which is in the midst of negotiations with the West, cannot be trusted. Netanyahu is also expected to reveal documents and testimonies from crew members that connect Iran to the arms shipment.
Netanyahu addressed the issue at the beginning of Sunday’s cabinet meeting, saying, „The Iranian weapons ship reached Israel last night. The operation to seize the ship had two goals: Preventing the delivery of deadly weapons to terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, which would have directly endangered Israel’s citizens, and exposing the true face of Iran, which was behind this weapons shipment. Iran completely denies its involvement; it is lying in the most brazen manner. We will present evidence of this tomorrow and later.”
Responding to claims that the naval operation was unnecessary, an IDF official told Israel Hayom that, „There are rockets in this shipment with a 160 kilometer range. If you do the math, they could reach Haifa. These are new rockets that threaten the majority of Israeli citizens. It is not right to simply say, ‘There are so many rockets in Gaza, what would a few more matter?’ These are a lot of rockets, with longer ranges and with bigger warheads. A missile like this in the hands of Hamas or Islamic Jihad gives them strategic capability.”
The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said in a statement that the weapons aboard the Klos C were „advanced weapons that would place Israeli citizens at risk. The IDF will continue in its mission to prevent the smuggling of weapons to terrorist organizations.”
Meanwhile, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton met Sunday with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, during her first visit to the Islamic republic. The visit came after an invitation from Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, marking a thaw in relations since the beginning of the year.
„I have come to Iran with the message of goodwill of 28 European countries, and this is my first opportunity to talk with the Iranian officials over a different issue. And this is a start for the development of cooperation between Iran and the EU,” Ashton was quoted as saying by Iranian Fars News Agency.
“The EU fully acknowledges the Islamic Republic of Iran’s importance and role in the region; accordingly, talks have taken place during this trip for cooperation between the two sides on different issues,” she added.
Zarif said that, „Iran will only accept a solution that is respectful, that respects the rights of the Iranian people.”
Ashton’s trip to Iran is the first by an EU foreign policy chief since 2008.
At Sunday’s cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said, „I would like to ask [Ashton] if she asked her Iranian hosts about this shipment of weapons for terrorist organizations, and if not, why not. Nobody has the right to ignore the true and murderous actions of the regime in Tehran. I think that it would be proper for the international community to refer to Iran’s true policy, not its propaganda.”