INS Eilat (501) Sa'ar 5 class corvett with IDF interdicted arms from KLOS-C
According to Reuters:
Last week the Israeli navy captured a ship in the Red Sea carrying arms that the military said included forty M-302 surface-to-surface rockets manufactured in Syria and capable of striking most of Israel from the Gaza Strip.
Along with the missiles, some 180 mortar shells and 400,000 rifle rounds were laid out in neat piles on a pier in the southern port of Eilat. A navy missile boat that took part in the raid was docked behind the display.At the IDF presentation, Prime Minister Netanyahu took the podium to exhort that Iran is "fooling the world" with its nuclear negotiations. However, that Iran is pro-Palestine is no secret.
Some Middle East observers speculate that if the military balance between the Israelis and Palestinians were not so overwhelmingly lopsided in Israel's favor, the Israelis might well negotiate peace in a more honest and forthright manner. Netanyahu's display of the mighty INS Eilat as a backdrop to what can be described in tactical terms as a quite limited logistical supply of cheaply produced 302 mm unguided artillery rockets, 120 mm mortar bombs and 7x62 mm small arms ammunition, well illustrates this enormous disparity.
However, the M-302 rockets do possess a modicum of potential deterrence last seen during Israels's Operation Pillar of Defense, where Palestine's surprise employment of Fajr-5 type rocket artillery may have indirectly contributed towards the IDF not launching a ground force incursion similar to that of Operation Cast Lead.
Photo: IDF on Flickr
