Why Israel takes the Iranian threat seriously

You may recall on January 3 2002, Israeli security forces seized a ship called the Karine A in the Red Sea as it was headed for the Suez Canal. The ship was full of weapons bound for Arafat's Palestinian Authority.

Here's how the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the shipment:

The shipment included both 122 mm. and 107 mm. Katyusha rockets, which have ranges of 20 and 8 kilometers respectively. It also contained 80 mm. and 120 mm. mortar shells, various types of anti-tank missiles, anti-tank mines, sniper rifles, Kalashnikov rifles and ammunition. From Gaza, the 122 mm. Katyushas could have threatened Ashkelon and other coastal cities; while from the West Bank, Ben-Gurion International Airport and several major Israeli cities would have been within their range. The shipment also included rubber boats and diving equipment, which would have facilitated seaborne attacks from Gaza against coastal cities.

The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs described the shipment this way:

The intercepted cargo ship contained new escalatory weapons, including: 62 122mm Katyusha rockets (20 kilometer range), 700 120mm mortar shells (6 kilometer range), 686 81 mm mortar shells, a ton and a half of highly potent C-4 explosives, Sagger, RPG, and LAW anti-tank weapons, and over 400,000 rounds of ammunition for automatic weapons (Ma'ariv, January 7, 2002).

The weapons were of Iranian origin, and the ship was loaded off the coast of Iran.

Preliminary investigation of the crew members has revealed so far that the commanding officer of the ship is Colonel Omar Akawi. The ship was purchased by the Palestinian Authority, loaded with weapons by the Iranians and the Hizbullah, manned by Palestinian Authority personnel, with the aim of transfering the weapons it carried to the Palestinian Naval Police near the Gaza beaches.

Since October 2000, Adel Mughrabi, a major buyer in the Palestinian weapons purchasing system (with the assistance of the Palestinian Naval Police Commander Juma'a Ghali and his executive Fathi Ghazem), has been in contact with the Iranians and Hizbullah regarding a vast weapons smuggling operation for the use of the Palestinian Authority. This operation included the testing and purchase of ships, forming a sailing crew and appointing a commander for the team, as well as making arrangements as to how the weapons would be stored, loaded onto the vessels, and its journey until delivery to the Palestinian Authority.

Preliminary investigation of the team members arrested revealed that the Karine A ship was purchased by Adel Mughrabi in Lebanon, sailed to Sudan where it was loaded with regular cargo. The crew was then switched with the team members and in November 2001 sailed to Hodeida port in Yemen.

In December 2001 the ship sailed according to detailed instructions from Adel Mughrabi to the beaches of Iran near Qeshm Island. There a ferry approached it, most likely arriving from Iran, from which the weapons stored in 80 large wooden crates were transferred and loaded onto the ship. These weapons were stored in special waterproof containers produced only in Iran, which are floatable and are set with a special configurable system that determines how deep they are submerged, were prepared by Hizbullah personnel for smuggling to the Palestinian Authority. Included in the ferry team which transferred the weapons crates to the ship was also a Lebanese trainer, a Hizbullah operative who trained a diver from the ship's crew in configuring the floatation devices in Lebanon. The trainer was present for yet another refreshing training session prior to the sailing.

Israel knows who its enemies are, and Iran has been fueling the terrorist war against Israel.

Now, Iran says it will provide funds to Hamas, the terrorist organization recently elected to lead the Palestinian Authority.

Iran has agreed to provide a Hamas-led Palestinian Authority with enough money to make up for any cuts in foreign aid, a senior Hamas official said on Tuesday.

But the official, Khalil Abu Laila, and other Hamas spokesmen could not confirm a report in the London-based al-Hayat newspaper that Tehran promised the group's leader, Khaled Meshaal, about $250 million to compensate for the loss of U.S. and European aid.

Al-Hayat quoted Palestinian sources in Damascus, where Meshaal lives in exile. Meshaal visited Tehran and other regional powers earlier this month in search of financial support for the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority.

"Iran has promised to make up for any cut in aid," Abu Laila told Reuters in Gaza.

"I do not have information about numbers but Iranian officials have announced they would be ready to fulfil all financial needs of the Palestinian Authority in case of aid cuts," he added.

Farhat Assad, Hamas's spokesman in the West Bank, said Iran told Meshaal during his visit that it was "prepared to cover the entire deficit in the Palestinian budget, and continuously."

The ways in which Iran supports Hezbollah and Hamas is a large topic, and these relationships go back a ways. But, to be so open about the promise of funds is a confrontational stance.

Indeed, Iran has been quite open in its contacts with terrorist organizations in recent months.

Last November, Iranian officals met with representatives of Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Damascus.

Iran’s foreign minister met leading figures from three Islamic militant groups to co-ordinate a united front against Israel days before a recent escalation of attacks against Israeli targets shattered fragile ceasefires with Lebanon and the Palestinians, writes Hugh Macleod in Damascus.

The minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, held talks with leaders of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah in Damascus on November 15.

Among those who attended the meeting were Khaled Meshaal, the Hamas leader, and a deputy leader of Islamic Jihad, which claimed responsibility for last Monday’s suicide bombing of a shopping mall in Netanya that killed five Israeli citizens.

Ahmed Jibril, leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine- General Command, was also present. “We all confirmed that what is going on in occupied Palestine is organically connected to what is going on in Iraq, Syria, Iran and Lebanon,” said Jibril.

When Iranian President Ahmadinejad visited Syria in late January, as I wrote about here, he met with Palestinian terrorist groups.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met yesterday in Damascus with the leaders of 10 radical Palestinian movements including Islamic Jihad and Hamas, a Palestinian official said.

Mr Ahmadinejad said he "strongly supports the Palestinian people's struggle" during the meeting, according to Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) official Maher Taher.

Mr Taher said the militant chiefs pledged to Mr Ahmadinejad that the "Palestinian resistance and struggle would continue" against Israel.

Islamic Jihad chief Abdullah Ramadan Shala, Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command leader Ahmed Jibril were among those at the meeting, Mr Taher said.

This is what I call a smoldering war. It may not involve tanks and lines of trenches, but Iran is conducting a war against Israel by proxy. And when Iran, a country pursuing nuclear weapons, says Israel should be wiped off the map, there is a long history of reasons why Israel takes the threat seriously.

You can bet there are some very serious discussions going on in private about what exactly to do with Iran. Israel does not view "doing nothing" as an option. The next few months are going to be a test for Israel, and for the United States.

As citizens, we need to be prepared for dangers that require a sober, mature response. Unfortunately, the other major political party in this country is woefully unprepared to provide serious leadership on matters of national security.

The United States has the military means to confront Iran, but the Democrats may destroy any political will through their demagoguery. Israel certainly has the will to defend itself, but would like the aid of the United States in a serious confrontation.

How all this plays out in the next few months may, as the Chinese curse goes, make for interesting times.