Arafat plans inquiry on arms ship

RAMALLAH - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat says he will launch an internal investigation into Israel's seizure of a ship the Israelis say was smuggling arms, and has vowed to punish anyone involved.

The Palestinian Authority, which has denied Israeli charges that Arafat and other leaders were behind the alleged smuggling attempt, acted yesterday after meeting United States, European and Russian officials seeking to end more than 15 months of bloodshed.

Israeli-Palestinian sparring over the vessel's seizure has dealt peace efforts a blow. Israel said the ship was carrying Iranian-supplied weapons to the Palestinian Authority, but the Palestinians and Iran have denied this.

After Arafat's meeting with European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana yesterday in the West Bank city of Ramallah, the Palestinian leader announced an official inquiry into Israel's allegations.

He said he was asking the US, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations to play a role in the investigation. An Arafat adviser said only that the four would form a committee to be briefed on the findings.

Arafat said: "If anything is revealed - and I personally do not think it will be - we will not hesitate to bring them [the culprits] before a trial."

Israeli Government spokesman Raanan Gissin dismissed Arafat's announcement as contrived.

"In the face of the unequivocal evidence, what can they do?" he said.

Israeli officials said commandos seized the ship in the Red Sea on Friday and found 50 tonnes of weapons on board, valued at over $US100 million ($234.452 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, but said he doubted top Palestinian leaders were involved.

The authority said earlier that Israel was "magnifying the incident" to avoid honouring a ceasefire.

Solana conferred with US Middle East troubleshooter Anthony Zinni shortly before the retired Marine Corps general ended a four-day visit in which he tried to capitalise on a recent lull in the violence.

Zinni brokered security talks between the two sides but failed to achieve a breakthrough.

"The objective that we have is the resumption of the political discussion, the political talks," said Solana, who met earlier with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Solana's spokeswoman said European and US leaders were coordinating their efforts closely and that Solana was encouraged by the relative calm over the past three weeks.

But peace efforts have been clouded by charges and counter-charges over Israel's interception of the ship. Israeli officials said its cargo included long-range rockets of the Katyusha type, which have been fired at Israel from Lebanon in the past.

The ship's captain, 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 authority.

Palestinian Authority officials did not comment on Akkawi's statements or on what position, if any, Awadallah held in the organisation.

Israel said the vessel, the Karine-A, had been under Palestinian command and bound for Gaza with Arafat's complicity.

But Akkawi said yesterday: "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."

"The weapons were going to be used ... for the Palestinian people to protect themselves," he said.

The specialist shipping newspaper Lloyd's List said the Karine A may belong to an Iraqi national. It names the current owner of the ship as Iraqi national Ali Mohammed Abbas.

Abbas bought the vessel from its former owners, a Lebanese shipping company, on last August 31.

The paper says it has established that it was previously known as the Rim K, and registered in Lebanon

- REUTERS

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