The Israeli navy reported having discovered tons of rockets and other weapons onboard a ship bound for Syria. But Syrian officials dismiss all allegations, Bassel Oudat reports from Damascus Israel is holding a ship that it claims was carrying weapons from Iran to Syria. It released pictures of a large consignment of missiles and other weapons that were allegedly destined for Lebanon's Hizbullah. Syria has denied any connection with the consignment, saying that the whole thing is fabricated. Syrian officials say that Israel is in the habit of capturing weapons and claiming they were destined for Syria. Israel, which has bombed Syrian facilities in the past, accuses Syria of harbouring terrorists. The Israelis broke the news one day after having monitored what they said was a successful launch by Hamas of a missile with a 60-kilometre range. According to a statement by the Israeli navy, Israeli Special Forces intercepted the commercial ship Francop, which flies the Antiguan flag, near Cyprus on 5 November. Aboard, Israeli soldiers found tons of rockets hidden in containers marked as civilian goods. The Israelis claim that the weapons came from Iran and were meant for Syria and later Hizbullah, and perhaps even Hamas. The Israeli coastguard took the ship to the port of Ashdod, south of Tel Aviv, for thorough inspection. According to Israeli sources, 40 containers loaded with anti-aircraft and anti-tank rockets and other weapons were found on the ship. The Israelis said that the shipment was on its way from Iran to the Syrian port of Latakia. Such an amount of weapons, the Israelis pointed out, was sufficient to sustain Hizbullah in a month long war with Israel. Israeli President Shimon Peres officially accused Syria and Iran of conspiring against his country. The incident, he added, illustrated the "big gap" between the words and the deeds of both Iran and Syria. Syria's foreign minister, who was visiting Iran on the same day the news came out, said the allegations were "totally untrue". The ship "was carrying goods from Syria to Iran and there were no weapons -- or equipment to produce weapons -- onboard," he stated. Speaking at a joint news conference with his Iranian counterpart, the minister said that, "some pirates who act on the pretext of inspections keep blocking the passage of commercial ships." Hizbullah has denied any connection with the weapons while denouncing "Israeli piracy in international waters". The interception of the Antiguan ship is the biggest commando operation of the type ever mounted by the Israelis in the Mediterranean. According to Haaretz, the ship sailed from Iran then made stops in Yemen and Sudan before going through the Suez Canal. According to Lloyds, the Francop operated regularly in the Mediterranean. Lloyds has not disclosed the ship's itinerary for the seven days prior to its capture. Israel routinely accuses Syria and Iran of arming Hizbullah and Hamas. It has repeatedly intercepted ships in the Mediterranean on suspicion of carrying weapons to Lebanese and Palestinian resistance movements. On 3 January 2003, Israeli navy and air force units searched the ship Karine-A for weapons. Israeli officials then said that the ship was heading to Gaza with 50 tons of weapons aboard, including Katyushas, anti-tank rockets, and landmines. The Israelis said at the time that men close to the Palestinian Authority bought the consignment from Iran. In 2008, Israel said that it monitored a cargo ship carrying two frigates onboard. The Israelis claimed that the ship was heading from Iran to Syria and that its navy refrained from intercepting it. Israel's latest operation was announced only hours before the UN General Assembly began a debate on the Goldstone Report, which accuses Israel of committing war crimes in Gaza in December 2008. A source in the Syrian Foreign Ministry said that Israel's act of "piracy" was linked to the UN debate of the report. "The Israeli fabrications are aimed to distract attention from the UN debate and to justify Israel's war crimes against the Palestinians." Damascus, the source promised, would refer the matter to international courts. International law experts say that Syria has no legal grounds for protesting Israel's action since the ship involved was not Syrian-owned. For its part, the Syrian official newspaper Al-Thawrah said that Israel's action "reflects the panic of the Israeli government at a time when Iran's relations with the West are improving." The newspaper made a link between the ship's interception and the UN debate of the Goldstone Report. Another Syrian official paper, Tishrin, said that Israel is trying to delude international public opinion through "a poorly-produced fiction film". Israel's attempts have not deceived the world or reversed the vote on the Goldstone Report. According to Tishrin, "Israel is adding political failure, intelligence failure, and media failure to its military failure." The paper called on all governments of the world to arrest Israeli leaders on sight and prevent their planes and ships from landing at their ports. European diplomatic circles in Damascus are worried that Syria may get involved in a risky game. Last month, Russian customs officials said they stopped the smuggling of a military consignment to Syria, which turned out to be spare parts for its MiG-29 planes. Syria didn't comment on the news. Following the boarding of the Francop, the UN Security Council passed on an Israeli message about the ship to the Sanctions Committee. The US, French and UK envoys to the UN are said to be demanding action on the case. It may be that this incident is not going to be forgotten soon.
