Crippled Gaza aid ship may have been cover for Iranian arms smuggling to Lebanon

Another theory under investigation is that the activists were attempting to bring weapons, not aid, to Hamas.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Maltese authorities are investigating several theories about the Gaza-bound ship that was halted outside their country’s waters on Thursday night when two explosions damaged its motor, including speculation that it was being used as a diversion by Iran, Ynet reported.

A senior Maltese security official told Ynet that they were not ruling out the idea, raised on several platforms, that the Islamic Republic had wanted all eyes on the Conscience while it tried to slip a nearby cargo ship full of weapons and ammunition to Lebanon.

Iran’s main proxy terror organization, Hezbollah, has been in dire straits since Israel destroyed a large part of its command structure, best-trained corps and missile cache in Lebanon and pushed it beyond easy striking range last year in a series of attacks that ended in a ceasefire agreement with Beirut.

The Lebanese government has since begun to rein Hezbollah in after decades of it acting with impunity, promoting Iranian interests over Lebanese security and interests.

While the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which organized the ship, claimed – without providing proof – that Israeli drones had struck it twice and disabled it in order to stop it from bringing food and medicine to the Gaza Strip, the official said that it was also possible that those on board had set the explosives themselves.

“We’re dealing with a situation where much remains unclear,” the official told the Israeli outlet. “The Maltese government is holding intense discussions on the matter, and we’re examining every possible lead.”

However, the activists are refusing to allow Maltese authorities to examine the ship at sea.

“Prime Minister Robert Abela offered those on board the vessel to send a team to assess the damage and even proposed covering all repair costs so the ship could resume its journey to Gaza,” government spokesperson Edward Montebello said. “However, the people on the vessel rejected the offer outright.”

Although Malta is pro-Palestinian, Abela rebuffed the NGO’s demand to permit the ship to enter a port to effect repairs, saying that until the activists allowed his police to examine the cargo to ensure that it was only carrying humanitarian aid, his country’s security interests came first.

According to intelligence blog Intelli Times, before reaching Malta, where 30 anti-Israel activists were planning to come on board, the ship was seen at ports in Tunisia and Libya.

Israel has not commented on the accusations being levelled against it.

Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Thameen Al-Kheetan called on Sunday for an “independent, impartial, and effective investigation by competent authorities into the incident leading to apparent fire on board the vessel and a distress call in international waters, with a view to ensuring accountability.”