List of Smuggling Attempts By Sea to Hamas, Hezbollah, Other Terrorist Organizations

Below are some of the attempts by terror sponsoring states to arm terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah operating in the Gaza Strip and Southern Lebanon with weapons smuggled via the sea. These attempts are those publicly made available and are not a comprehensive account of every smuggling attempt made by sea. They highlight the need for comprehensive security checks for all vessels approaching the Gaza Strip and for other vessels suspected to be carrying weapons to terrorist groups in the region.

Weapons found aboard the Santorini

May 7th, 2001: Santorini

The Santorini was intercepted on its way from Lebanon to the Gaza Strip. It contained a large shipment of 40 tons of weapons including Strela anti-aircraft missiles—the same kind that terrorists fired at and narrowly missed an Arkia Israeli passenger jet taking off from Mombassa, Kenya in November 2002. The shipment also included mortars, rifles and guns, grenades, mines and explosive material, anti-tank RPG-7 missile-launchers, and artillery rockets.
Three crew members aboard the Santorini were convicted for trying to smuggle weapons from Lebanon to the Gaza Strip—the captain, a professional weapons smuggler and two of his relatives aboard the ships had been involved in three previous smuggling attempts backed by Hezbollah and the PFLP-GC.
The Santorini ship was acquired by the PFLP-GC in a small island off Syria, and registered as Syrian. During previous smuggling attempts by the crew, arms were packed in Syria and transferred to Lebanon by a Syrian bus. Part of the anti-tank weaponry originated from Iran.

50 tons of weapons captured aboard the Karin-A

January 3rd, 2002: Karin-A

The Karin-A was intercepted in the Red Sea, heading towards the Palestinian Authority in the Gaza Strip. It carried 80 submersible containers containing  50 tons of weapons, including: RPG-7 rockets, RPG-18 anti-tank rocket launchers, Iranian-made anti-tank and anti-personnel mines, 2200 kilograms of high explosive demolition blocks, Sagger anti-tank launchers and missiles, as well as rifles, machine guns, AK-47s, 735 hand grenades, 700,000 rounds of small ammunition, and diving equipment. The submergible containers were to be dropped into the sea and then washed ashore to the Gaza Strip or picked up by a smaller vessel and delivered to the Strip.
The Palestinian Authority was heavily involved in the smuggling attempt, especially Yasser Arafat’s former Chief Financial Officer and confidante at the time, Fuad Shubaki. The crew of the Karin-A also included senior members of the P.A . , indicating  Arafat’s direct involvement. The ship was purchased in Lebanon and sailed to Sudan and Yemen to pick up civilian goods (watermelon seeds, sesame seeds, rice, toys, and clothes) to disguise the weapons aboard.

June 8th, 2002

Two Palestinians were found swimming along the northern Gaza Strip shore armed with four grenades, an AK-47, and four ammunition magazines in an attempt to infiltrate an Israeli community

August 4th, 2002

IDF naval forces identified an armed Palestinian wearing a oxygenated scuba diving suit and carrying an AK-47, 8 grenades, 4 ammunition magazines, who was on his way towards an Israeli community from the Gaza coast.

November 23rd, 2002

After many attempts to communicate with an unknown Palestinian fishing boat heading from the Gaza Strip towards the direction of Israel, the bomb-laden boat exploded near an Israeli security patrol boat, moderately injuring three and lightly injuring one.

January 7th, 2003

A suspicious life raft found floating along the northern Gaza Strip coast was found to be booby-trapped with explosives.

Radio activation systems found aboard the Abu Hassan

May 21st, 2003: Abu Hasan

The “Abu Hasan”, intercepted in waters west of Haifa, was sailing from Lebanon to Egypt carrying a Hezbollah operative specializing in explosives bound for the Gaza Strip. The boat itself was a fishing boat, used purposefully to disguise its intentions. Cargo contained: a radio-activation system to detonate bombs remotely, CDs of directives on how to carry out suicide bomb terror attacks, five boxes with rocket fuses, and 25 Katyusha rocket detonators. The masterminds of the arms smuggling attempt were connected to Arafat’s Palestinian Authority and Hezbollah.

May 9^th, 2006

Early in the morning of Israel’s Independence Day, the Israeli Navy spotted a suspicious vessel crossing from Egypt into the southern Gaza Strip. After ignoring repeated warnings issued by the Navy, the Navy opened fire towards the vessel, whose crew then steered the boat to hide behind a Palestinian civilian boat. The crew was then spotted to be tossing large sacks off the vessel into the water. The Navy ceased fire out of concern that the Palestinian civilian boat would be hit, and the suspicious vessel escaped. The large sacks tossed overboard were later found by an underwater robot to contain over 500 kilograms of explosives.

May 14^th, 2006

The Israeli Navy spotted a suspicious Palestinian vessel off the coast of the southern Gaza Strip and issued warnings ordering the crew to stop the vessel. Upon receiving the warnings, the crew began to toss large bags off the ship into the water. The Navy apprehended the vessel and detained the crew for questioning. The bags were later found to contain several hundred kilograms of explosives.

The Hansa India

October 12th, 2009: Hansa India

The “Hansa India”, which was charted by and sailed from Iran, was due to unload a cargo of eight containers in Egypt where it was believed to continue on to Syria or Lebanon. Following warnings from the German authorities, the vessel was not unloaded and continued to Malta where it was seized by the US military and found to be carrying bullets and industrial material intended for the production of weapons, seemingly bound for the Syrian army or Hezbollah.

November 3th, 2009: Francop

The Francop was intercepted by the Israeli Navy off the coast of Cyprus en route from Iran to Syria where it was planned to be smuggled by land to Hezbollah in Lebanon. The ship contained 36 containers with 500 tons of arms: 9,000 mortar bombs, 3,000 Katyusha rockets, 3,000 gun shells, 20,000 grenades and half of a million rounds of small ammunition, all hidden behind sacks of polyethylene. The arms smuggling was attempted without the knowledge of the Francop crew.  The cache had been loaded from the Bandar Port in Iran on an Iranian vessel and stopped at an Egyptian port, where the cache was unloaded onto the Francop, a German owned vessel. The cache was ten times larger than the cache seized from the Karin-A and the Victoria.

June 7^th, 2010

Israeli Navy soldiers off the coast of the central Gaza Strip near Nuseirath identified a squad of terrorists wearing diving suits on their way to execute a terror attack.

February 1^st, 2010

Five barrels packed with 15-20 kilograms of TNT explosives were deployed via the sea by the Islamic Jihad and other Gaza terror organizations to Israeli beaches. Two of the barrels exploded near the Gaza Strip, while the other three, attached by a buoy, washed ashore on the Ashdod, Ashkelon and Palmachim beaches. Activation mechanisms were attached to the barrels so that they would be detonated following a cellular device signal activated by the terror organization.
Following warnings issued by the Israeli Navy, the barrels found along the Israeli shores were detonated in a controlled manner by Israeli Police sappers, and no one was injured.

March 15th, 2011: Victoria

The Victoria, a German owned ship, was discovered by the Israeli Navy to be carrying over 50 tons of weapons in three containers, concealed behind bales of cotton and sacks of lentils, including 60 mm and 120 mm mortar shells, C-704 anti-ship missiles, and ammunition for Kalashnikov assault rifles. Most of the weapons, including the C-704 missiles, were manufactured in Iran and came with Farsi-language instruction manuals which sported symbols of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards on their covers.

From: http://idfspokesperson.com/2011/07/05/list-of-attempts-by-terrorist-organizations-to-smuggle-weapons-via-the-sea/

Big Day For Medical Marijuana in Mass?

Big Day For Medical Marijuana in Mass?

Weightlifter wins her fight to wear the hijab in competition as international body bows to pressure for rule change

By Daily Mail Reporter
Kulsoom Abdullah has won her battle to wear the hijab while competing.
After a lengthy campaign to change the sport's rules surrounding what athletes can wear in competition, the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) have now approved new guidelines to give women the option of covering their arms and legs.

 And under the new advice female competitors who wish to cover up can wear a one-piece full-body unitard signalling a massive victory for the Georgia Tech graduate.

Weighing in: Kulsoom Abdullah appeared on NBC News Atlanta to discuss the historic

victory to convince the International Weightlifting Federation to change it's dress code

The 35-year-old, who holds a PhD in computer engineering, has waged a personal crusade with both the U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Weighlifting to push reform of the uniform law.

 It was the USOC that urged the IWF to make the change during a meeting in Malaysia earlier this week.

 

According to the IWF the unitard will still allow technical officials to see and verify that lifts are being made.

Now Abdullah, who competes in the women's senior weightlifting division, can enter national competitions after she was barred because she insisted on covering most of her body, as her religion dictates.

Weighty issue: Kulsoom Abdullah sets up her weights, she has persuaded the

international weightlifting body to change its dress code for women

Weight lifted: Kulsoom Abdullah will now be able to compete after rules over what she

can wear in competition have been changed to allow her to cover up

She said: 'I’m really happy that it happened. I’m really thankful for the support that was out there in the public.

 'The one advantage to all of this is that it raised a lot of awareness. I hope it [the changes] will help with other sports that other [Muslim] women participate in.

 'I think it would just be nice that in any sport, if there's a lady who covers her arms and legs - they could still be involved.'

 The Atlanta woman had argued her case before the USOC and provided a video which showed alternative attire that a Muslim woman could wear.

 The IWF said issues similar to those raised by Abdullah had been circulating within the sport's governing body.

 IWF President Tamas Ajan said: 'This rule modification has been considered in the spirit of fairness, equality and inclusion.'

Abdullah said she will begin training and will register for an upcoming Iowa weightlifting competition she thought she would not be able to enter.

 Born in the U.S. to Pakistani parents, Abdullah competes in the 48kg (about 106 pounds) and 53kg (about 117 pounds) weight class.

 She began weightlifting as an exercise routine a few years ago and said: 'It was just something for fun. It gave me something to achieve as a goal.'

 She then teamed up with a trainer and set her sights on competing, training five to six days a week and entering competitions last year in Flowery Branch, Newnan, Gainesville, Savannah and South Carolina.
Abdullah, who moved to Atlanta from Florida in 1999, said she covered her body during local competitions and met no resistance from local weightlifting officials.

 A spokesman for the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations added: 'We welcome this important decision in support of greater inclusion in athletic competition and urge the representatives of other international bodies to take similar steps.

 'We thank the United States Olympic Committee for helping to empower Muslim women athletes and for taking a stand in support of the American tradition of religious diversity.'

 Abdullah is among other female athletes who are Muslim and have been blocked from national and international competition because of their insistance on modest dress.

 Iran's women's soccer team was recently disqualified during an Olympic qualifying competition against Jordan after athletes wore a full-body outfit with a head scarf.
As a result, they will not be allowed to compete in London.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2010277/Muslim-weightlifter-Kulsoom-Abdullah-wins-fight-wear-hijab-competition.html#ixzz1R3tJllIS

Feds: Marijuana busts still possible

Feds: Marijuana busts still possible

Two NFL Players to Headline ISNA Convention, Will Speak for Muslim Student Association

Over the years Islamic apologists have pointed to Muslim celebrities in their effort to try and downplay the threat of Islam. One of them was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who has recently spoken out against “Islamophobia”. Today we learn that two NFL players have shown us where their loyalty lies, as they have joined forces with two of the country’s largest Islamic organizations. The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), and the Muslim Student Association (MSA). Just because a Muslim is a sports figure, does not mean they stand with America over Islam.
(Husain Abdullah pictured)

NFL Players to Headline ISNA Convention Sessions, Register Today!
Source: ISNA

(Chicago,IL July 1, 2011) Listen up all you football fans! ISNA is excited to announce that NFL brothers, Husain Abdullah of the Minnesota Vikings and Hamza Abdullah of the Arizona Cardinals, will join the ISNA Convention this weekend!

The brothers will kick-off this year’s basketball tournament on Saturday and will also speak during sessions for the Muslim Student Association (MSA) track and the main ISNA convention track throughout the weekend!

In addition to the great opportunities to meet with these all star players, you can also view a full viewing of the film, “Fordson: Faith, Fasting, and Football,” at convention during the ISNA Convention Film Festival.

“Fordson” is the very popular documentary that follows a predominately Arab-American high school football team from Dearborn, Michigan during the last ten days of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The film unearths the story of a community desperately holding onto its Islamic faith while struggling to gain acceptance in post 9-11 America.

Don’t draft Muslim.

From: http://loganswarning.com/2011/07/01/two-nfl-players-to-headline-isna-convention-will-speak-for-muslim-student-association/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Loganswarning+%28Loganswarning%29

Bill Maher takes on Islam

48th Annual Muslim Brotherhood-linked ISNA Convention, July 1-4 USA

Islamists never miss an opportunity to exploit American holidays to promote and spread Islam and sharia law. Then again, Muslims don’t consider them American holidays. July 4, what Americans consider their Independence Day, is not what Muslims in America are taught by other Muslims to consider the day. As noted at an earlier year’s convention.

Tweet from ISNA conference

Last week Muslims from the extremist Hizb ut Tahrir met in Chicago to tell Muslims in America how they can establish a global caliphate ruled by Islamic sharia law. Illinois is also hosting this Islamist fest of the Islamic Society of North America – designated as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Hamas-funding Holy Land Foundation convictions.

July 1 – 4, 2011

Rosemont Convention Center
5555 N. River Road
Rosemont, IL 60018

As expected, the world’s leading Islamist instigators and apologists for Islam, sharia and jihad will be present. The convention , as well as the Muslim Brotherhood’s Muslim Student Association (MSA). When Congressmen (Ellison & Carson), police chiefs (Lee Baca), university professors, media personalities (Zogby), and State Dept. “outreach” partners have no qualms about meeting with terror-linked Muslim organizations it speaks volumes about the direction the United States is heading. Numerous speakers or their organizations have been banned from working with the FBI and U.S. military.

The FBI and CIA couldn’t wish for a gathering of so many Islamists in one place at one time, yet unfortunately rather than acting on the opportunity, they are more likely to be participating with a booth or as speakers. See the full list here.

read more: http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/2011/07/01/48th-annual-muslim-brotherhood-linked-isna-convention-july-1-4-usa/