Events Calendar
In This Section
Man convicted of conspiring with British bomb plotter
Japan to give U.S. base relocation plan next week
5 Americans detained in Pakistan; no reason given
Italy: American counting on appeal to clear her name in murder case
Officials: Russian nightclub fire toll hits 125
Al-Qaida says 4 European hostages in good health
Iran: United Nations observatory near border is spy station
Most Read Stories
Club has 3 members who've lost 100 pounds
Woman sues over drink-fueled leg amputations
Two Akron brothers convicted of assault after birthday party
2 students found shot to death in Boardman cemetery
One student suspended in Hudson drug sweep
Akron man is stripped at gunpoint, robbed
WWII veteran had Hitler's art book on shelf in his Beachwood home
Blogs:
Pets:
Lucky Dog Survives Iraq Bombing
The Heldenfiles:
Talking Television
Patrick McManamon:
Can the Browns (actually) beat the Steelers?
Akron Zips:
Akron to play North Carolina in national semifinal
Tribe Matters:
No surprise here, Nunnally named Tribe hitting coach
Cleveland Browns:
Steelers' Harrison on Polamalu: 'He's greatly missed'
Kent State Sports:
KSU legend Dick Schoonover dead at 81
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs at Memphis Grizzlies – Abbreviated Version
Buckeye Blogging:
Buckeye Football – Present and Future
Varsity Letters:
Walsh Jesuit players receiving college attention
All Da King's Men:
Obama's TARP Magic
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Oh-So-Sensitive GOP Feelings Hurt
Akron Law Café:
Health Care Financing Reform: (84) The Commonwealth Fund Believes that the Reform Bills Will Achieve Substantial Savings in Health Care Expenditures
See Jane Style:
Do IT this week: Layering
Car Chase:
What Automotive Thing Are You Thankful For?
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Loan Modification – You Qualify!
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Jill wants to know when is the polar bear plunge into Lake Erie?
Sound Check:
Keys side project Blackroc performs on 'Late Night'
HRLite House:
Genetic Discrimination
Akron Gamer:
How do I know you have too much time on your hands?
By Amy Teibel
Associated Press
POSTED: 11:42 a.m. EST, Nov 05, 2009
JERUSALEM: Israel's prime minister charged today that Iran's goal was to kill as many civilians as possible by giving Hezbollah what the military said were enough weapons to extend any war against Israel for one month.
Benjamin Netanyahu said the shipment of hundreds of tons of weapons on a seized ship Israel contends was bound for the Lebanese guerrilla group was a war crime that should be investigated by the U.N. Security Council. The Iran-backed Hezbollah denied that the arms were bound for them.
''Their goal was ... to kill as many civilians as possible,'' Netanyahu said of the Iranians.
Israeli naval commandos intercepted the ship Wednesday in waters off Cyprus and discovered hundreds of crates of rockets, missiles, mortars, anti-tank weapons and munitions. Israel claims the weapons came from Iran and were headed for Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon but have not yet provided any proof.
Israeli officials hoped the capture of the ship would help buttress the Jewish state as it fights war crimes allegations at the United Nations today and seeks crippling global sanctions against Iran.
''This is a war crime that the General Assembly that is meeting today should investigate and discuss. It is a war crime that the U.N. Security Council should have a special meeting over,'' Netanyahu told reporters in Tel Aviv.
''It explicitly violates U.N. Security Council decisions,'' Netanyahu added. ''It is a war crime that we know the Iranian regime intended for the Hezbollah to carry out after they already fired thousands of rockets at our communities. This is what the international community should focus on especially today.''
But in the Muslim world, officials worried that Israel might use the seizure to divert attention from urgent regional issues.
State-run Iran TV said in a commentary that the ''Israeli propaganda'' was aimed at diverting attention from allegations of Israeli war crimes during last winter's war in the Gaza Strip. A Syrian Foreign Ministry official expressed the same view.
Iran's English-language Press TV said Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki dismissed the allegations on the cargo's destination and route.
Palestinians worried that Israel would pounce on an excuse to avoid peacemaking.
''Since the Israeli leadership and society are not ready for peace, they are using any pretext to shun peace obligations, and one is the issue of the Iranian shipment,'' said Ghassan Khatib, a spokesman for the West Bank-based Palestinian government.
Hezbollah today denied the weapons were for them. There was no comment from Lebanese officials.
''Hezbollah categorically denies it has any connection with the weapons which the Zionist enemy claims it seized aboard the Francop ship,'' Hezbollah said in a statement faxed to The Associated Press in Beirut.
The arms shipment underscored the dangerous tensions between Israel and the Islamic Republic. Israel considers Iran a strategic threat because of its nuclear program and long-range missile development, and says Tehran is lying when it denies it is building atomic arms.
Iran has never acknowledged giving weapons to Hezbollah, which fought a monthlong war with Israel in 2006. Proof of large-scale Iranian weapons shipments to its proxy forces on Israel's borders could reinforce Israeli demands for tough action — possibly even a pre-emptive strike — against Iran's nuclear facilities.
Israeli defense officials said the weapons haul consisted of arms already in Hezbollah's possession, and would have given the Lebanese guerrilla group the ability to fight a full month longer in the event of a clash with Israel on the scale of the 2006 war.
The defense officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the military has yet to formally comment on the potential value of the shipment's contents to militants.
The presence of Iranian proxies in the Mideast, combined with worries over Tehran's nuclear program and arsenal of long-range missiles, have made Iran the Jewish state's most formidable foe.
Neutralizing Iran's bomb-making ability remains Netanyahu's top priority — and Israel has not ruled out a military strike against Tehran's nuclear facilities.
Associated Press writers Aron Heller and Michael Barajas in Jerusalem, Hussein Dakroub in Beirut and Albert Aji in Damascus contributed to this report.
JERUSALEM: Israel's prime minister charged today that Iran's goal was to kill as many civilians as possible by giving Hezbollah what the military said were enough weapons to extend any war against Israel for one month.
Benjamin Netanyahu said the shipment of hundreds of tons of weapons on a seized ship Israel contends was bound for the Lebanese guerrilla group was a war crime that should be investigated by the U.N. Security Council. The Iran-backed Hezbollah denied that the arms were bound for them.
''Their goal was ... to kill as many civilians as possible,'' Netanyahu said of the Iranians.
Israeli naval commandos intercepted the ship Wednesday in waters off Cyprus and discovered hundreds of crates of rockets, missiles, mortars, anti-tank weapons and munitions. Israel claims the weapons came from Iran and were headed for Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon but have not yet provided any proof.
Israeli officials hoped the capture of the ship would help buttress the Jewish state as it fights war crimes allegations at the United Nations today and seeks crippling global sanctions against Iran.
''This is a war crime that the General Assembly that is meeting today should investigate and discuss. It is a war crime that the U.N. Security Council should have a special meeting over,'' Netanyahu told reporters in Tel Aviv.
''It explicitly violates U.N. Security Council decisions,'' Netanyahu added. ''It is a war crime that we know the Iranian regime intended for the Hezbollah to carry out after they already fired thousands of rockets at our communities. This is what the international community should focus on especially today.''
But in the Muslim world, officials worried that Israel might use the seizure to divert attention from urgent regional issues.
State-run Iran TV said in a commentary that the ''Israeli propaganda'' was aimed at diverting attention from allegations of Israeli war crimes during last winter's war in the Gaza Strip. A Syrian Foreign Ministry official expressed the same view.
Iran's English-language Press TV said Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki dismissed the allegations on the cargo's destination and route.
Palestinians worried that Israel would pounce on an excuse to avoid peacemaking.
''Since the Israeli leadership and society are not ready for peace, they are using any pretext to shun peace obligations, and one is the issue of the Iranian shipment,'' said Ghassan Khatib, a spokesman for the West Bank-based Palestinian government.
Hezbollah today denied the weapons were for them. There was no comment from Lebanese officials.
''Hezbollah categorically denies it has any connection with the weapons which the Zionist enemy claims it seized aboard the Francop ship,'' Hezbollah said in a statement faxed to The Associated Press in Beirut.
The arms shipment underscored the dangerous tensions between Israel and the Islamic Republic. Israel considers Iran a strategic threat because of its nuclear program and long-range missile development, and says Tehran is lying when it denies it is building atomic arms.
Iran has never acknowledged giving weapons to Hezbollah, which fought a monthlong war with Israel in 2006. Proof of large-scale Iranian weapons shipments to its proxy forces on Israel's borders could reinforce Israeli demands for tough action — possibly even a pre-emptive strike — against Iran's nuclear facilities.
Israeli defense officials said the weapons haul consisted of arms already in Hezbollah's possession, and would have given the Lebanese guerrilla group the ability to fight a full month longer in the event of a clash with Israel on the scale of the 2006 war.
The defense officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the military has yet to formally comment on the potential value of the shipment's contents to militants.
The presence of Iranian proxies in the Mideast, combined with worries over Tehran's nuclear program and arsenal of long-range missiles, have made Iran the Jewish state's most formidable foe.
Neutralizing Iran's bomb-making ability remains Netanyahu's top priority — and Israel has not ruled out a military strike against Tehran's nuclear facilities.
Associated Press writers Aron Heller and Michael Barajas in Jerusalem, Hussein Dakroub in Beirut and Albert Aji in Damascus contributed to this report.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
Akron, Oh
Posted 05:24 PM, 11/05/2009
I can't stand Israel.
