Arms haul sparks new fears

Israelis fear the conflict could lead to all-out war

By Frank Gardner in Jerusalem

The Israeli navy's capture of a boat smuggling weapons from Lebanon to the Gaza Strip has set alarm bells ringing in Israel.

Tuesday's newspapers are speculating that the conflict with the Palestinians could escalate, with Israeli airliners being brought down in the future by anti-aircraft missiles.

This military imbalance is deeply upsetting for many in the Arab world

The Israeli press is calling it 'the tip of the iceberg'. It believes the arms haul that was displayed on Monday night with such fanfare by the Israeli navy, may be only a small part of a long-term consignment to radical Palestinians.

According to an analysis in the Israeli paper, Yedioth Ahronoth, similar arms shipments have already been unloaded onto beaches in Gaza and are now hidden away in warehouses.

The paper offers no proof to back up that assertion, but it speculates that the sort of weapons intercepted at the weekend could bring the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to all-out war.

Israel's fears

The 50 Katyusha rockets seized are similar to the weapons that the Lebanese guerrilla group, Hezbollah, used to fire across the border at northern Israel. Israelis now fear that if these are falling into Palestinian hands then towns in central and southern Israel could be at risk.

One Israeli newspaper speculates that this was not the first arms shipment

Also included in the arms haul are a number of Strella anti-aircraft missiles. When used by a skilled operator, these can bring down military helicopters, or more worryingly for the Israeli public, even a civilian airliner taking off from Tel Aviv.

The Palestinian Authority has denied any connection with the arms shipment, and Israeli suspicions are now focusing on dissident Palestinian groups such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

The Israeli press says it does not matter exactly who the arms were destined for. The fact that someone is trying to ship arms of this nature to the Palestinian Territories is cause alone for major concern.

Under the terms of the Oslo peace accords the Palestinian security forces are armed only with small arms - Kalashnikov assault rifles and M16s.

On the few occasions when these weapons have been used by the Palestinian Authority's security forces against Israeli troops, the Palestinians have been no match for the massive firepower of the Israeli army, which is equipped with tanks and helicopter gunships.

This military imbalance is deeply upsetting for many in the Arab world. But so far, moderate Arab leaders like Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak have ruled out sending weapons or fighters to join the Palestinians.