Israel Matzav

Video and photos of Israel Navy boarding Victoria arms ship and more

I have some video and photos of the Israeli Navy boarding the Victoria arms ship some 200 miles off our coast earlier on Tuesday. In this first video, the IDF calls on the ship to allow the Navy to board.

Let's go to the videotape.



Compare that to what happened last May when the Navy told the Mavi Marmara to stop.

Let's go to the videotape.



I am convinced that the reason the Victoria reacted the way it did was the deterrent effect resulting from what happened with the Mavi Marmara last year. As much as the 'international community' may consider that operation 'botched,' no IDF soldiers were killed, and the ships were not allowed to pass through to Gaza. That created a deterrent effect, and there are lessons there of far more general applicability.

Here's video of the Navy ships heading toward the Victoria. The video appears to have been shot from a helicopter, so apparently there was one or more helicopters involved this time as well.

Let's go to the videotape.





Note that there are no terrorists or purported civilians (apparently) aboard this boat. No one milling around the deck waiting to attack IDF soldiers who land on the deck. Things may be different in May when many countries are planning to send another flotilla of fools to Gaza.

As I'm writing this post, Israel television is reporting that the boarding took place at 9:20. The ship carried 60 and 120mm shells. They also had C-704 land-to-sea missiles, of the type that was used against the Navy in Lebanon five years ago. There is also apparently other advanced weaponry aboard the ship. The weapons were hidden within a general commercial shipment and would have disturbed the equilibrium between the IDF and the 'Palestinians.'

Defense Minister Barak says that the raid proves the utility of the sea closure around Gaza. The crew knew nothing about what they were carrying. The ship will reach port in Ashdod after midnight and will be unloaded in the morning on Wednesday. It's a huge ship - 22,000 tons.

The IDF hopes this will close down this lane for the time being while the terror groups figure out how they were discovered.

Here's the boarding. Let's go to the videotape.



Israel Television is now discussing the possibility that the Iranian warships that passed through the Suez Canal brought these weapons, and the possibility that the new government of Egypt will allow weapons to pass through Alexandria and be shipped by land to Gaza.

Israel is blaming Iran for Tuesday's ship, but the loading was in Syria.

By the way, there were demonstrations in Syria on Tuesday against the Assad government. More on that later.

By the way, the containers were marked as containing cotton and wood, and Israel television says unequivocally that the weapons that were on this ship are not currently found in Gaza. We will find out more about them Wednesday morning.

Labels: C-704 missiles, Victoria, weapons shipment, weapons smuggling

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:18 PM