An Israeli military court sentenced to 25 years in jail the captain of a weapons smuggling ship allegedly linked to Palestinian officials, judicial sources said.
According to the ruling, judges at Erez military court in the northern Gaza Strip, sentenced Omar Akawi to 25 years behind bars, while two other men, Riyad Abdullah and Ahmed Kheris, were each sentenced to 17 years.
On January 3, 2002, Israel security forces operating in the Red Sea seized a shipment of some 50 tonnes of weapons aboard the Palestinian-captained ship known as the Karine A.
Over 80 waterproof containers were emptied of their military hardware which included 122 mm Katyusha rockets with a 20-kilometre range, anti-tank rockets, mortar shells, guns for elite units, mines and ammunitions as well as 1.5 tons of explosives.
At the time, Israeli officials said that officials "linked to the Palestinian Authority" had bought the ship for 400,000 dollars and the weapons for 15 million dollars. (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
