The United States' reaction towards the "Karine A" weapons ship, seized in the Red Sea by Israeli commandos, has taken a switch.
The State Department accepted as credible Israeli allegations that the Palestinian Authority was trying to smuggle weapons by sea. U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Tuesday justified last week's capture by the Israeli Army of a ship carrying weapons in the Red Sea, saying that Israel had "very good intelligence" that the arms on board were to be used to attack it.
Rumsfeld said "They clearly had very good intelligence
that those weapons were going to be used against them and they intercepted the ship by pre-empting that ship from landing and unloading and then providing those weapons to be used against Israel".
"The United States has done a similar thing with respect to various ship interceptions... and it is something I think that is not unusual or not uncalled for when one thinks of the magnitude of the weapon stash that was on that ship," he added.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Tuesday, during a meeting with American Jewish Community representatives in Jerusalem, that the United States government knows with certainty that the Palestinian Authority was behind the attempt to smuggle weapons.
"The government knew all the details. It was known to them that the Palestinian Authority paid millions of dollars. Payments of this nature are authorized only by Yasser Arafat," Sharon stressed clearly.
Sharon's comments followed immense criticism by Israeli government officials, who claimed the U.S. response to the capture of the Karin-A ship was lukewarm, due to Washington's fear the affair would damage the diplomatic process, aimed at reaching a peace settlement in the region. U.S. Envoy to the Middle East, Anthony Zinni was recently in the region on a second mission targeted at promoting peace and security.
The Israeli Prime Minister also added that as long as
he was in power, Yasser Arafat would not be allowed to
leave the West Bank city of Ramallah, until he arrested the assassins of former Israeli Minister of Tourism, Rehavam Ze'evi, who was killed late last year in a Jerusalem hotel.
Earlier Tuesday, Israeli Transport Minister Ephraim Sneh criticized the United States for saying it was not yet "clear" who had hired the captured weapons ship, and for whom the weapons were intended.
The Minister told Israeli Army Radio that the U.S. State Department was not willing to admit the importance of the ship's capture, which was carrying amongst other weapons, long-range Katyusha rockets.
According to HaAretz, Sneh remarked "Tons of weapons and ammunition are being transferred to Lebanon in clear daylight, so anybody can understand that these weapons were intended for the Palestinian Authority, and not Hezbollah".
Sneh strongly assured that it was obvious that the arms shipment was destined for the Palestinian Authority. "If you consider the possible destinations of the ship, the fact that the captain is a high-ranking official in the Palestinian Authority, and that there were Palestinian Authority people aboard the ship, anybody can figure out where it was headed."
Just a day before Rumsfeld's statement, the U.S. State Department said it did not know who had hired the vessel. "We don't know who hired it, who was the recipient. Those are the kind of pieces of information we're looking for," said department spokesman Richard Boucher on Monday.
He said the State Department was trying to find out if the ship was loaded in the port of Dubai, and said that the United States did not have all the facts. Despite this statement, Boucher praised Israel for its actions and added that any operation taken to "prevent terrorists' from acquiring means of carrying out violence was good.
Omar Akawi, the captain of the captured arms ship told reporters Monday, from inside his Israeli prison, that the arms on the ship were destined for the Palestinian Authority, and that senior Palestinian officials had organized the shipment. He mentioned that he has been a member of the Fatah movement since 1976, and is currently a lieutenant colonel in Palestine's naval police. The Palestinians have confirmed that Akawi is an official in their naval unit, but denied links to the shipment.
"The Palestinian Authority is not interested and does not want any form of escalation in this situation," Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo remarked. "It is not a Palestinian option to lead the confrontation toward a military one between the two sides."
Abed Rabbo said those accused of involvement would be questioned by senior security officials. President Arafat has also issued a statement claiming that any Palestinian official found to have been involved in the shipment would be punished. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
