Netanyahu Displays Arms Intercepted from Iran
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Uriel Sinai/Getty images(JERUSALEM) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday accused the international community of being hoodwinked by Iran’s new leadership as he displayed an arsenal of weapons that was intercepted by Israel before reaching the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu appeared on Israeli TV from the southern city of Eilat to announce Israel had seized a ship carrying 40 Syrian-made M-302 rockets that he said came from Iran. Mortars manufactured by Iran and hundreds of thousands of bullets were also intercepted near Sudan last week.
Had the ammunition reached its intended target in Gaza, Netanyahu said “terrorist organizations would have made murderous use of them against Israeli citizens.”
The prime minister used the seizure to demonstrate the international community’s lack of interest in what he alleges is the duplicitous nature of the Iranian regime, which is currently involved in negotiations with six world powers to scale back its nuclear ambitions.
Netanyahu, who met with President Obama at the White House last week, has said repeatedly that Tehran is determined to build a nuclear weapon despite what appears to be cooperation in a six-month pact that is designed to lead to a permanent deal.
Responding to Netanyahu’s latest assertions about the captured weapons stockpile, Iran called them “fabrications” while Hamas claimed Israel is simply trying to justify its blockade of the Gaza Strip.
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