fair use for educational and discussion purposes

Link

Captured Palestinian Captain Says Weapons Shipment Intended for Palestinians By Karin Laub Associated Press Writer Published: Jan 7, 2002

JERUSALEM (AP) -The Palestinian captain of a ship seized by Israel with 50 tons of offensive weapons on board said in jailhouse interviews Monday that the shipment was intended for the Palestinians and that he got his smuggling instructions from a Palestinian Authority official. Israel has accused Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat of ordering and financing the weapons shipment, a charge denied by the Palestinian Authority.

The argument over the shipment overshadowed a four-day truce mission by U.S. envoy Anthony Zinni, who flew home Monday.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon branded Arafat a "liar" and "bitter enemy" over the affair and said his Cabinet would convene soon for a fundamental review of Israel's relationship with the Palestinian Authority.

Despite the rising tensions, Zinni on Sunday chaired a meeting of Israeli and Palestinian security officials who agreed to keep working toward a truce. Zinni gave both sides some "homework" to be completed before his expected return Jan. 18, participants said. Israel is to further ease restrictions on Palestinians, while the Palestinians are required to arrest more militants and dismantle terror groups.

In Zinni's absence, security meetings are to continue, Palestinian officials said.

"It is clear that while serious challenges remain, there are real opportunities for progress," the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv said in a statement.

On Monday, the European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, held talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders to keep the momentum toward a cease-fire going.

Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer told Solana that the weapons, seized by Israel last week aboard a cargo ship in the Red Sea, had been bought by the Palestinians after the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the United States, at a time when Arafat was publicly distancing himself from militant groups.

Aboard the vessel, the Karine A., were 50 tons of rockets, anti-tank missiles and mortars, most of them made in Iran. The captain, Omar Akawi, and a crew of 12 were captured by Israeli commandos.

Akawi, 44, said in jailhouse interviews Monday that he was an adviser for naval affairs in the Palestinian Authority's Transport Ministry.

Akawi, who described himself as a member of Arafat's Fatah movement since 1976, said the smuggling operation was overseen by a Palestinian Authority official he identified as Adel Awadallah.

Asked whether Arafat knew about the operation, Akawi shrugged his shoulders. "I know that they (the weapons) have to go to Palestine," the captain told Fox News Channel. "This is for the Palestinians."

Akawi said that after Arafat's renewed call for a truce with Israel on Dec. 16, he expected his handlers to abort the mission. "That's when I was midway. I expected to receive an order to stop it," Akawi said. However, the captain said he was told by Awadallah to proceed.

In a statement Sunday, the Palestinian leadership said it "condemns this operation and condemns the Israeli attempt to accuse the Palestinian Authority of being involved in this."

Israel appeared to be sending conflicting messages. While Israeli security officials met with their Palestinian counterparts, Sharon branded the Palestinian Authority a "major player in the network of international terrorism."

"When Arafat gave the instruction to purchase the firearms discovered on the ship, he made a strategic choice - to bring about regional deterioration which would lead to war," Sharon said Sunday at a naval base in the Israeli Red Sea port of Eilat where weapons were being displayed.

Last month, Israel declared Arafat "irrelevant," but agreed to keep working on a truce with Arafat's government, apparently in order not to anger the United States.

-- Anonymous, January 07, 2002