\"This find makes a mockery of all our security-coordination meetings with the Palestinians,\" said Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer. He was referring to the discovery on Sunday of a ship laden with heavy weapons headed for Gaza Port from Lebanon. The shipment contained four anti-aircraft Strella missiles, 120 anti-tank missile launchers, rocket-propelled grenades, and mortar shells. In addition, there were katyushas rockets with a range of 8.5 kilometers - as opposed to 1.5 kilometers that the PA\'s mortars can reach - and Kalachnikov rifles with 13,000 bullets. The shipment was sent by Ahmed Jibril\'s terrorist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine organization.
Israeli defense leaders say, however, that the Palestinians already have weapons of the type that were seized Sunday. Smuggling of weapons to the PA has been taking place for years, chiefly via underground tunnels from Egypt to Rafiach and in Arafat\'s plane. Other Palestinian VIPs, whose cars went unchecked through Israeli checkpoints, also smuggled in various weapons. A security source told Arutz-7, \"Almost every time a VIP car returned from Jordan, we saw that it was heavily weighted - but we were not allowed to check it.\"
Israeli defense leaders say, however, that the Palestinians already have weapons of the type that were seized Sunday. Smuggling of weapons to the PA has been taking place for years, chiefly via underground tunnels from Egypt to Rafiach and in Arafat\'s plane. Other Palestinian VIPs, whose cars went unchecked through Israeli checkpoints, also smuggled in various weapons. A security source told Arutz-7, \"Almost every time a VIP car returned from Jordan, we saw that it was heavily weighted - but we were not allowed to check it.\"