Santorini affair

The Santorini was a fishing boat used for weapons-smuggling, which was captured in May 2001 by the Israeli Shayetet 13 Naval Commando Unit.[1][2] This was the first ship caught in an attempt to smuggle weapons to Palestinian-controlled territories.[3] In May 2002, three of the Santorini's crew members were convicted of attempting to smuggle weapons into the Gaza Strip.[3]

Santorini affair
Part of the al-Aqsa intifada
Planned byIsraeli Sea Corps
ObjectiveSeize weapon-smuggling boat Santorini
DateMay 2001
Executed byShayetet 13
OutcomeSuccess

Operation

The ship's crew was led by Captain Div Va'iza, a Lebanese citizen, and included two of his relatives, Hussein Va'iza and Fahdi Awadwas. The three were professional smugglers;[3] a fourth crewmember was Va’iza's son. The crew had been hired by Ahmed Jibril's Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command[3] and were asked to smuggle arms into Gaza. The crew refused the operation as too risky, but agreed instead to smuggle the arms to a location near the Egyptian Sinai coast, where they would be met by agents of the PFLP-GC. The crew made three failed attempts to rendezvous with the agents in Sinai, and were captured on their fourth.[3]

The Santorini had left northern Beirut On May 6, 2001, carrying weapons packed in barrels. Their plan was to drop the barrels off-shore, anchored at a pre-determined spot for later collection by Sinai-based agents.[4] A surveillance plane spotted the suspicious ship, and a Shayetet 13 commando team boarded the 40-ton ship near Rosh Hanikra, just off the coast of northern Israel's border with Lebanon.[5]

Shipment

According to the IDF, the shipment contained the following weapons:[5]

Reactions
  • Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command: the PFLP-GC confirmed the shipment was theirs,[6] with Jibril quoted on Israel's Army radio as saying "This was not the first shipment, nor will it be the last."[6][7][8]
  • Israel: Prime Minister Sharon said the event was "a very dangerous development" which "emphasises the intentions of the [Palestinian] authority."[9] He described it as an extremely grave violation of all the agreements that Arafat signed with Israel.[10]
  • Palestinian Authority – Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo denied any connection to the smuggling attempt, and the PA's spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudaineh was quoted saying "For sure we have nothing to do with the shipment."[6]

Aftermath

In May 2002, three of the Santorini's crewmembers were convicted, by a military tribunal, of attempting to smuggle weapons into Gaza.[3] The key legal issues were whether the weapons were destined for Gaza (over which the court had jurisdiction, as it was then occupied by Israel), and whether the crew knew that Gaza was to be the final destination of the shipment. The fourth crewmember, Va’iza's son, was acquitted when the court determined he had not participated in the previous three attempts and that it was not proven that he knew the ship's destination.[3]

Notes
  1. Weapon ship sent to the Palestinian Authority and caught, 8.05.2001
  2. Weapons Found on 'Karine-A' and 'Santorini'
  3. Harel, Amos (12 December 2002). "Military tribunal convicts three 'Santorini' crew members". Haaretz. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  4. "Navy captures boat full of weapons bound for Gaza. Cache includes Katyushas, anti-aircraft missiles". Jerusalem Post. May 8, 2001.
  5. "Boat containing weapons found off Israel". CNN. May 7, 2001.
  6. Gaza-bound weapons arsenal seized by Israeli Navy
  7. Zaki Chehab (2007). Inside Hamas: the untold story of militants, martyrs and spies. I.B. Tauris. p. 169. ISBN 978-1-84511-389-6.
  8. Philips, Alan (10 May 2001). "Violent threat to US for backing 'monster Israel'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  9. Gozani, Ohad (9 May 2001). "Israel blames Arafat after arms seizure". The Telegraph. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  10. "Ahmad Jebril says weapons shipment was his group's business". Retrieved 7 April 2011. Sharon added that this was a dangerous development and severe violation to the accords on the part of the PNA.

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