PALESTINIAN TERROR SHIP CAPTAIN LINKS WEAPON CARGO TO ARAFAT

Palestinian terrorism: PA terror ship captain Omar Akkawi

Jerusalem-----January 8........As Yasser Arafat spent hours telling the world media that the "Palestinian Terror Ship" was mere propaganda and that he was not responsible in any manner, the Captain of the ship told a news conference that the PA was directly involved from ownership, purchasing of weapons to logistics.

In response to Arafat's initial denials, Israeli government spokesman Raanan Gissin dismissed Arafat's announcement as contrived. "In the face of the unequivocal evidence, what can they do?" he said.

The Israel Defense Forces announced that IDF commandos seized the terror ship in the Red Sea on Thursday and found 50 tons of weapons on board, valued at over $100 million, destined for the Palestinian-ruled Gaza Strip.

The ship's Palestinian captain told reporters in the Israeli jail where he was being held that a Palestinian Authority official had given him his orders for the arms shipment.

Israeli officials said that the ship's cargo included long-range rockets of the Katyusha type, which have been fired at Israel from Lebanon in the past.

The captain of the ship, Gaza Strip native Omar Akkawi, told reporters his handler was Palestinian Authority official Adel Awadallah. Israeli security sources said Awadallah was a senior arms purchaser for the Palestinian Authority.
Despite objections from the Shin Bet security agency, Akawi, who said he was a naval traffic adviser to the PA Transportation Ministry, was interviewed in Ashkelon Prison by Israel TV Channel 1, Channel 2, Fox TV, and Reuters at the request of the Prime Minister's Office.

There was no immediate comment from Palestinian Authority officials on Akkawi's statements or on what position, if any, Awadallah held in the organization.

Israel said the vessel, the Karine-A, had been under Palestinian command and bound for Gaza with Arafat's complicity. With the ship as a backdrop, Sharon told a news conference on Sunday that Arafat was an enemy of Israel.

"The (Palestinian) leadership, I don't think that they know something... maybe they know from him (Awadallah). From my side, I don't think they know," Akkawi said on Monday.

"The weapons were going to be used... for the Palestinian people to protect themselves," he said.
"The weapons were a donation by the Islamic world to the Palestinian people... from Iran, Hizbullah," he said.

Akkawi described himself as a "fighter", as a member of Fatah since 1976.
He said the entire operation was supervised and overseen by PA official Adel Awadallah, also known as Adel Mugrhabi, based in Greece. He gave him instructions and allegedly purchased the freighter for $400,000. He said he has no knowledge of Awadallah's whereabouts.

According to the plan, he was to have anchored opposite Alexandria in Egypt, where he was to unload the weapons onto two smaller vessels. Off El Arish, they were to be transferred to three small boats, which were to drop the special containers, designed to float just under the surface and marked with buoys, into the sea off the Gaza Strip.

"It was first [likely] to be discovered by the Americans in the Gulf areas because they are... alerted for fighting terror," he said. "If it passed from there, the Israelis would come in the Red Sea. Otherwise, the Egyptians would find it, because in the Suez Canal they check everything."

He said Israel Navy commandos raided the boat at 4:45 a.m, when most of the crew was asleep. He said he heard a noise, but thought it was due to a technical failure. Then he opened his eyes and was confronted with armed men.

At least 234 Israelis have been killed since the Palestinian campaign of terrorism and violence began.

ISRAEL NEWS AGENCY