Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said today that the Bush administration knows without a doubt that the Karin A weapons freighter was ordered by and intended for the PLO, as was reported by Israeli officials following the successful mission. IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Ron Kitri expressed sharp criticism today at the position U.S. government spokesmen are taking. Israel has provided abundant evidence proving that the 80 tons of weapons, captured by Israeli naval commandos on Thursday morning, was headed for the PLO in Gaza. The most recent confirmation of the vessel\'s mission was the captain of the ship himself, Omar Akawi, who told interviewers yesterday that the Lebanese Hizbullah had nothing to do with the matter.
But, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said in Monday\'s press briefing, \" We don\'t know who hired it, who was the recipient…\" The IDF spokesman expressed his hopes that the US spokesmen who doubt where the ship was headed \"are wearing small hats, because they will have to eat them.\" He also confirmed that the Israeli Security Agency (ISA - formerly called the GSS) opposed allowing TV journalists interview the ship captain, but it was decided to permit the interviews in order to provide irrefutable evidence that the arms were headed for Gaza.
At Monday\'s US State Dep\'t press briefing, Associated Press correspondent Barry Schweid pursued the question of where the weapons were going with State Dep\'t spokesman Boucher:
Mr. Schweid: Is that [the destination of the arms shipment] still a question in your mind?
Mr. Boucher: Barry, I answered your question originally to say we don\'t have the facts in this matter. I didn\'t focus on Chairman Arafat except to the extent that he said he didn\'t have any knowledge. We don\'t know. We don\'t know who hired it, who was the recipient. Those are the kinds of pieces of information we are looking for…
Question: …I just wondered if there was any compliment or any pat on the back due Israel for intercepting, considering your war on terrorism…?
Mr. Boucher: It\'s definitely good that Israel stopped the weapons. Obviously, this was an Israeli operation. Any law enforcement operations or other operations that are able to prevent terrorists or violent groups from acquiring the means of carrying out their violence is good. We think it\'s commendable of the Israelis for having been able to intercept the shipment and prevent the potential escalation of violence in the region.
Question: …the wires are carrying interviews with the ship\'s captain where he says that he was indeed working for the Palestinian Authority under contract to the Palestinian Authority. And I understand that you are still in the process of gathering facts and verifying information and so on, but if it is shown that this indeed was a Palestinian Authority operation, how serious a blow would that be to --
Mr. Boucher: That\'s what we call the hypothetical, the grand speculative hypothetical that we don\'t try to answer. Let\'s see what the facts are first. Let\'s deal with the facts as we find them, as we know them.
But, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said in Monday\'s press briefing, \" We don\'t know who hired it, who was the recipient…\" The IDF spokesman expressed his hopes that the US spokesmen who doubt where the ship was headed \"are wearing small hats, because they will have to eat them.\" He also confirmed that the Israeli Security Agency (ISA - formerly called the GSS) opposed allowing TV journalists interview the ship captain, but it was decided to permit the interviews in order to provide irrefutable evidence that the arms were headed for Gaza.
At Monday\'s US State Dep\'t press briefing, Associated Press correspondent Barry Schweid pursued the question of where the weapons were going with State Dep\'t spokesman Boucher:
Mr. Schweid: Is that [the destination of the arms shipment] still a question in your mind?
Mr. Boucher: Barry, I answered your question originally to say we don\'t have the facts in this matter. I didn\'t focus on Chairman Arafat except to the extent that he said he didn\'t have any knowledge. We don\'t know. We don\'t know who hired it, who was the recipient. Those are the kinds of pieces of information we are looking for…
Question: …I just wondered if there was any compliment or any pat on the back due Israel for intercepting, considering your war on terrorism…?
Mr. Boucher: It\'s definitely good that Israel stopped the weapons. Obviously, this was an Israeli operation. Any law enforcement operations or other operations that are able to prevent terrorists or violent groups from acquiring the means of carrying out their violence is good. We think it\'s commendable of the Israelis for having been able to intercept the shipment and prevent the potential escalation of violence in the region.
Question: …the wires are carrying interviews with the ship\'s captain where he says that he was indeed working for the Palestinian Authority under contract to the Palestinian Authority. And I understand that you are still in the process of gathering facts and verifying information and so on, but if it is shown that this indeed was a Palestinian Authority operation, how serious a blow would that be to --
Mr. Boucher: That\'s what we call the hypothetical, the grand speculative hypothetical that we don\'t try to answer. Let\'s see what the facts are first. Let\'s deal with the facts as we find them, as we know them.