Israel Seizes Hizballah-Bound Weapons Ship

(JERUSALEM) — Israeli commandos seized a ship Wednesday that defense officials said was carrying hundreds of tons of weapons from Iran bound for Lebanon's Hizballah guerrillas — the largest arms shipment Israel has ever commandeered.

The Israeli military said an Iranian document was found on board, showing that the arms shipment originated from Iran, although the paper was not shown to reporters. Rear Admiral Roni Ben-Yehuda, the deputy Israeli navy commander, said that despite its size, the shipment of weapons was "a drop in the ocean" of arms being shipped to Hizballah. "It's a cargo certificate that shows that it was from a port in Iran," military spokeswoman Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich said. "All the cargo certificates are stamped at the ports of origin, and this one was stamped at an Iranian port." (See TIME's photoessay "The Mahdi Scouts: Youth of Hizballah.")

The Israelis boarded the ship before dawn in the waters near Cyprus. Israel has long accused Iran of arming its enemies.

Ben-Yehuda, the deputy Israeli navy commander, told a briefing that "hundreds of tons" of weapons were found on the ship, giving a much higher estimate than an earlier one of more than 60 tons. But hours after the seizure, Israel had not provided proof that the arms were meant for the Lebanese guerrillas.

Israeli military officials said the ship's journey started in Iran, and it arrived a week ago in Beirut. The next stop was Damietta, Egypt, where the weapons were loaded, they said. Ben Yehuda said the ship was headed for Latakia, Syria.

An Egyptian government official said it was "illogical" to think that Egypt is shipping weapons to Hizballah. The official, who would not be named because he was not authorized to discuss the case with the media, could not confirm or deny if the ship entered Egyptian ports. But he said it is not possible to search every ship that enters Egypt's ports.

Egypt's relations with Hizballah have been strained following the arrest in April of 26 people suspected of working for the group. The group is on trial in Cairo accused of spying for a foreign group, planning attacks against tourists and shipping in the Suez Canal, and sending operatives to Gaza to help militant groups there.

In the southern port Israeli city of Ashdod where the ship was towed and docked, hundreds of rockets and piles of boxes of grenades were stacked on the shore as Israeli forces unloaded the cargo, a process that was expected to take hours. See pictures of 60 years of Israel.

Israel and Hizballah fought a bitter war in the summer of 2006 that ended with a U.N.-brokered cease-fire, but occasional flare-ups occur.

Wednesday's seizure was bigger than a similar haul in 2002, when Israeli military confiscated a vessel with 50 tons of missiles, mortars, rifles and ammunition headed for Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.

A Hizballah official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he did not want to speak publicly to the media, said the Islamist movement had no comment on Israel's claim. "We are following the case and we will see if it is worth a comment," he said.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak called the interception "another success against the relentless attempts to smuggle weapons to bolster terrorist elements threatening Israel's security." Netanyahu said the arms supply "was intended to hit Israeli cities."

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