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Israel Fires on Militants Along Syrian Border Israel Says It Seized Iranian Shipment of Rockets Headed for Gaza
(about 9 hours later)
JERUSALEM — Israeli forces in the Golan Heights fired artillery shells early Wednesday at two militants who were attempting to plant an explosive device along the Israeli-Syrian frontier, according to the Israeli military, in the latest sign of how spillover from the Syrian civil war threatens to destabilize a long-quiet cease-fire line. JERUSALEM — Israel demonstrated its long reach early Wednesday when its navy commandos boarded and seized a merchant ship in the southern Red Sea carrying an Iranian shipment of advanced weapons destined for Palestinian militant groups in Gaza, according to senior Israeli officials.
Israeli military officials identified the militants as “Hezbollah-affiliated terrorists,” referring to the Lebanese Shiite organization that fought a monthlong war with Israel in Lebanon in 2006. Hezbollah is now fighting in Syria to shore up the government of President Bashar al-Assad in its bloody battle against rebel forces. The ship, identified as the Klos-C, was seized in international waters between Eritrea and Sudan, approximately 1,000 miles from the port of Eilat, Israel’s southernmost point. As well as civilian cargo of cement, it was carrying dozens of Syrian-manufactured M-302 rockets with a range of about 100 miles, according to the Israeli military.
The militants were hit by the shelling, according to the Israeli military, but there was no immediate information about their condition. The ship was commandeered without violence; Israeli officials said t the crew of 17 cooperated with the Israelis and seemed unaware of the vessel’s contents. The ship, flying under a Panamanian flag, was being escorted to Eilat, where it is expected to arrive in the next few days. The Israeli military distributed video footage and photographs from the ship, showing rockets it said were found on board. After previous seizures of ships at sea — most recently in 2011 — Israel has displayed the weapons once they arrive on Israeli soil.
Separately, Syrian warplanes struck three times near Arsal, in eastern Lebanon, according to Lebanese state media. The town is about seven miles from the Syrian border, in an area that has served as a transit zone for Syrian refugees and rebels. The apparent intelligence and operational coup provided Israel’s leaders with an opportunity to underscore their arguments about the true nature of the Iranian government at a time when world powers are engaged in talks with Iran to curb its nuclear program.
The artillery fire in the Golan Heights came a week after Hezbollah openly accused Israel of striking a Hezbollah position on the Lebanese-Syrian border on the night of Feb. 24, contrary to the organization’s usual practice in recent months of maintaining silence about such matters. Hezbollah had said it would choose what it called the appropriate time, place and way to retaliate, but details about the events Wednesday were murky and it was not immediately clear whether there was a direct connection. “At a time when it is talking to the major powers, Iran smiles and says all sorts of nice things,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is currently visiting the United States, said in a statement.
Israel has struck Syria at least three times in the past year, according to American officials, to prevent the transfer of advanced weapons from Syria to Hezbollah. Israel has refused to confirm or deny any part in the airstrikes, preferring to maintain ambiguity in large part to reduce the pressure on the other side to retaliate. Asked last week about the latest strikes on the Lebanese-Syrian border, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said:, “Our policy is clear. We will not speak about reports of what we did or didn’t do, but we do all that is necessary in order to defend our citizens.” “This is the true Iran, and this state cannot possess nuclear weapons. We will continue to do whatever is necessary in order to defend Israel’s citizens.”
The episode Wednesday, though unusual, would not have been the first attempt to plant an explosive device along the 1974 cease-fire line, which separates the Israeli-controlled section of the Golan Heights from Syria. Israeli forces seized a large part of the strategic plateau, which overlooks much of northern Israel, from Syria in the 1967 war and later annexed it in a move that has not been internationally recognized. Syria tried unsuccessfully to regain the Golan Heights in the 1973 war. Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, a military spokesman, said Israel had been tracking the shipment for months, from the time when the weapons were first loaded onto a plane at Damascus International Airport in Syria and flown to Tehran. From there, they were transported overland to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas and shipped to Iraq “to try to create a smoke screen,” he added.
Briefing reporters earlier this week, a senior Israeli military official said that a “massive” explosive device was used against an Israeli reconnaissance vehicle in the Golan Heights in December. There were no casualties. Then, he said, the vessel was loaded with cement at the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr and set sail on the last leg of its journey, to Port Sudan.
The official, who was speaking on the condition of anonymity in line with military protocol, said that those responsible for the December blast were figures affiliated with the Syrian government who were “inspired by Hezbollah.” Israel’s defense minister, Moshe Yaalon, said at a news conference that the circuitous route reflected Iran’s attempt to smuggle weapons to Gaza “without Iranian fingerprints.”
“A border that was quiet for 40 years becomes less quiet,” the official said. Asked what evidence there was for Israel’s assertion that the shipment was destined for Gaza, Mr. Yaalon replied, “The route is known,” adding that Sudan has long been a transit point for weapons that are then transported overland through Egypt to Gaza.
There have been numerous incidents of gunfire, mortar fire and rockets related to the Syrian civil war hitting Israeli-controlled territory along the frontier. Israel has fired back several times at Syrian positions, but it has usually described the shooting from the Syrian side as errant fire. In 2012, Sudan accused the Israeli military of being behind an air attack that destroyed a weapons factory in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital.
In March 2011, Israeli commandos commandeered a cargo vessel en route from Turkey to Egypt that was loaded with weapons. The ship had sailed to Turkey from Syria, and Israel said at the time that those weapons were also destined for Gaza. In 2009, the Israeli Navy seized a vessel in the eastern Mediterranean carrying hundreds of tons of weapons that Israel said were from Iran and bound for Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite organization.
Israeli military officials said that the rockets found aboard the ship on Wednesday “do not exist in Gaza today” and that their long range would have put millions of Israelis in danger. The Palestinian coastal enclave is controlled by Hamas, the militant Islamic group, which has launched thousands of rockets into Israel over the years. Other militant groups in Gaza, like the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad, have also launched rockets into Israel.
Officials from Hamas and Islamic Jihad denied the Israeli claim that the weapons were destined for Gaza. Islam Shahwan, a spokesman for the Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gaza, said in a statement that the assertions were “meant to justify the continuation of the blockade of Gaza.”
Eliezer Marom, a former commander of the Israeli Navy, told reporters that intercepting vessels at sea is legal for a country like Israel that is directly threatened by such shipments. “Israel has the right by international law to defend itself,” he said.
In a reflection of the continuing turmoil in the region, Israel also fought on its northern front early Wednesday. Israeli forces in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights fired artillery shells at two militants trying to plant an explosive device along the Israeli-Syrian frontier, according to the Israeli military.
Israeli officials identified the militants as “Hezbollah-affiliated terrorists.” Hezbollah, which fought a monthlong war with Israel in 2006, is now fighting in Syria to shore up the government of President Bashar al-Assad in its bloody battle against rebel forces.
Syria’s official news agency, SANA, cited an unnamed military source as saying that Israeli missiles, tank shells and machine gun fire injured seven Syrian security personnel and four civilians.
Wednesday’s events came a week after Hezbollah accused Israel of striking a Hezbollah position on the Lebanese-Syrian border and threatened to retaliate. It was not immediately clear whether there was a direct connection, but it was the latest sign of how the spillover from the Syrian civil war threatens to destabilize the long-quiet cease-fire line between Israel and Syria.