| Karine A affair | |
|---|---|
| Part of theSecond Intifada | |
 Military equipment confiscated from MVKarine A | |
| Planned by | Israeli Navy |
| Objective | Seizure of MVKarine A |
| Date | January 3, 2002; 23 years ago (2002-01-03) |
| Executed by | Shayetet 13 |
| Outcome | Success |
TheKarine A affair, also known asOperation "Noah's Ark" (Hebrew:מבצע תיבת נוח,romanized: Mivtza Teyvat Noah), was an Israeli military action in January 2002 in which theIsrael Defense Forces (IDF) forces seizedMVKarine A, which, according to the IDF, was aPalestinianfreighter in theRed Sea.[1] The vessel was found to be carrying 50 tons ofweapons, including short-rangeKatyusha rockets,antitank missiles, andhigh explosives.[1][2][3]
Prior investigation had revealed that the captain of the vessel was Colonel Omar Akawi, aFatah activist since 1976 and former member of thePalestinian Authority.[1][2][4] According toLloyd's List, which tracks worldwide shipping records, the ship was purchased on August 31, 2001 from a Lebanese company by the Palestinian Authority, under the name of Adel Mughrabi.[1] The alleged purchaser of the weapons, Mughrabi (aka Adel Salameh), was a former member ofYassir Arafat's staff until the early 1980s "when he was dismissed for conducting private business which conflicted with his official status".[5]
From October 2000, Mughrabi was in contact with the Iranians andHezbollah.[1][2][6] Mughrabi was one of the key contacts in Palestinian weapons procurement. He was supported by the Palestinian Naval Police Commander Juma'a Ghali and his executive Fathi Ghazem. Their objective was to sneak in a great amount of weapons for the use of the Palestinian Authority.[1] This particular operation included the purchase and facilitating of ships, forming of a sailing crew, planning on how to store and hide the weapons, the loading of the weapons into the vessels, and the transit of it until delivered to the Palestinian Authority.[1][3][4]
The ship was then sailed toSudan, where it was loaded with regular cargo and the crew was switched with Palestinian Authority personnel.[2][4] It was renamed fromRim K toKarine A when it was registered inTonga on September 12.[7] During November 2001, they sailed to theHodeida port inYemen. Afterwards, the ship was loaded with weapons by the Iranians and the Hezbollah; while in transit, it was manned by personnel of the Palestinian Authority.[2] The objective was to transport the weapons to the Palestinian Naval Police near theGaza beaches.[1][3][4]
During December 2001, Mughrabi gave the ship detailed instructions to sail to the beaches ofQeshm Island,Iran.[1][2] There a ferry approached it—most likely from Iran. This ferry contained the weapons stored in 80 large wooden crates, which were transferred onto the ship. The personnel of the ship then placed these weapons in special waterproof containers—which were produced only in Iran. These containers are floatable and have a configurable system that determines how deep they are submerged.[1]
When the loading was completed the ship needed to alter its heading towards the Hodeida port, due to technical problems.[1] After the ship crossed the canal it was expected to meet with three smaller ships and to transfer the load onto them—these smaller ships were purchased in advance.[4] They were then supposed to drop the weapons nearEl Arish, Egypt.[4] The commander of the Palestinian Naval Police, Juma'a Ghali and his executive Fathi Ghazem, would then collect the weapons there.[1]
The ship itself was worth an estimated $400,000, the civilian cargo used to conceal the weapons approximately $3,000,000, and the weapons were estimated at a value of approximately $15,000,000. The shipment included the following weapons:[1][2]
Ashkelon and other coastal cities would have been threatened by these Katyusha rockets if they had reached Gaza.[1] TheBen-Gurion International Airport and various major Israeli cities would also have been within the range of these rockets if they were situated in theWest Bank.[8] The shipment additionally includedrubber boats anddiving equipment. This equipment could have facilitated seaborne attacks from Gaza against the coastal cities.[1]
Major GeneralYedidya Ya'ari, the commander of theIsraeli Navy, reported that the weapons and equipment were packed in 83 crates, in waterproof plastic and attached tobuoys, to permit their drop-off and retrieval at sea.[9]
The mission began at 04:45 on January 3, 2002, in theRed Sea, 500 kilometres (311 mi) from Israel.[2] The ship was sailing ininternational waters on its way to theSuez Canal.[1]Israeli Navy commandos, backed bycombat helicopters andaircraft, surprised the crew and took over the vessel without firing a shot. The ship was taken toEilat the night of January 4.[10]
Major GeneralShaul Mofaz, chief of staff of the IDF, announced in aTel Aviv news conference on January 4 that the IDF had seized the ship while GeneralAnthony Zinni was meeting withYasser Arafat to promote negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.[10]
Israel and theUnited States alleged Hezbollah had some link to the Palestinian weapons ship seized by Israel. Three Hezbollah members arrested inJordan were attempting to smuggle Katyusha rockets to the Palestinians (the detainees were later freed by the Jordanians at the request of theLebanese government). Another fishing vessel carrying weapons to the Palestinians was sunk off the Lebanese coast by Israel in May 2002. Israel charged that the weapons and military cargo were purchased with the help of Hezbollah. Hezbollah rejected accusations of involvement in arms shipment.[11] Israeli reports stated that the ship, purchased fromLebanon, had loaded weapons at the Iranian island ofKish in the middle of the night off the coast ofIran. It had then sailed through theGulf of Oman, theArabian Sea, theGulf of Aden, and theRed Sea.[12]
Palestinian leaderYasser Arafat denied any involvement.[8] While the IDF maintains that the weapons were bound for the PA, other sources have suggested that the weapons may instead have been headed to Lebanon for the use of the Islamic militant group Hezbollah.[5] Some academics, such asMatthew Levitt,[13]Anthony Cordesman[14] andEfraim Karsh[15] have also supported the view that the ship was smuggling Iranian weapons to thePalestinian Authority.[8]
Israel subsequently arrested Fuad Shubaki, an Arafat aide who was in charge of finances in the PA and, as such, the mastermind behind the operation.[16] He was charged with arms dealing and establishing connections with a foreign agent, for his role in financing the weapons ship.[16] In 2006, Shubaki was taken into custody after an IDF raid on the Jericho prison where he was being held together with Ahmed Sa'adat—the leader of thePopular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.[16] They were held together with other assassins of the former tourism ministerRehavam Ze'evi.[16] Israel's prosecutor demanded that Shubaki must be sent to 25 years in prison, referring to the severity of his crimes. The court decided that Shubaki should be sentenced to a reduced sentence, keeping in mind his high age and health problems.[8] Shubaki was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in jail.[17][18]
After his arrest in 2006, Shubaki told the Israelis that the PA funded terror cells such as his. He estimated that between $7 and $10 million was used every two years to purchase arms for the Gaza Strip. Additionally, another $2 million was spent on weapons for the West Bank.[16] According to Shubaki the money came from both international aid to the PA, tax money Israel routinely transferred to the PA, and taxes collected from the Gaza Strip.[16] He also confessed to his relationship in the purchasing of weapons for the head of theTanzim terror group in Gaza. The Tanzim group was known for their attacks against military installations and Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip.[16]
The smuggling attempt violated agreements between the Palestinian Authority and Israel.[2] These agreements state the amount and type of weapons that the Palestinian Authority is permitted to possess.[2]
Mohammad Javad Zarif argues thatArafat andFatah were not allies with Iran at the time, asserting that Arafat was not allowed to meet withAyatollah Khamenei during his stay in Tehran before this incident during theOrganisation of Islamic Cooperation conference.[19]
United States president George W. Bush felt personally betrayed by Arafat, when he had evidence that "top Palestinian officials" were involved with theKarine A, but Arafat sent a letter to Bush "denying any Palestinian involvement".[20] According to Bush: "Arafat had lied to me. I never trusted him again. In fact, I never spoke to him again. By the spring of 2002, I had concluded that peace would not be possible with Arafat in power."[21]
According toDouglas Feith, theKarine A episode hardened Vice PresidentDick Cheney's opinions of Yasser Arafat and convinced him that Arafat "was part of the global terrorist network."[22]
Tonga soon suspended itsinternational ship registry but later reinstated it.[23][24]
A book entitledA Raid on the Red Sea: The Israeli Capture of the Karine A by Amos Gilboa, edited and translated byYonah Jeremy Bob was published in 2021.[25]
Similar weapons seizures from vessels en route:
