Israel releases ship and crew, keeps the weapons

[Israel Insider]

Israeli security forces late Wednesday released a ship that carried an estimated one million pounds -- weight, not currency -- of weapons from Iran to Hezbollah. Israeli naval commando seized the vessel Francop earlier this week in Mediterranean waters.

The ship was set to continue on its original route to Turkey and then on to Egypt. Israel completed unloading the military cargo, which included thousands of rockets as well as ammunition and grenades on Thursday morning. Authorities decided that the crew of the vessel had no connection to the weapons found on board. The company that loaded the containers expressed surprise.

The Lebanon-based Hezbollah terror group on Thursday denied any awareness of the arms shipment. "Hezbollah denies any link to the weapons that the Zionist enemy claims it removed from the vessel Francop," the group said in a statement. "At the same time it condemns Israeli piracy in international waters."

Read more on the story in Haaretz.

[Michael Shoemaker]

Israel should use the rockets to answer any Hizbullah barrage. I dare say, they'll use them more effectively than the Hizzies.