Karine A Affair

The Karine A affair, also known as Operation "Noah's Ark" (Hebrew: מבצע תיבת נוח‎ Mivtza Teyvat Noah), was an Israeli military action in January 2002 in which Israeli forces seized MV Karine A, which, according to IDF, was a Palestinian freighter in the Red Sea. The vessel was found to be carrying 50 tons of weapons, including short-range Katyusha rockets, antitank missiles, and high explosives.

Background

Prior investigation has revealed that the captain of the vessel was Colonel Omar Akawi, a Fatah activist since 1976 and former member of the Palestinian Authority. According to the Lloyd's List, which tracks worldwide shipping records, the ship was purchased on 31 August 2001 from a Lebanese company by the Palestinian Authority, under the name of the Adel Mughrabi. The alleged purchaser of the weapons, Adel Mughrabi (aka Adel Salameh) was a former member of Yassir Arafat's staff until the early 1980s "when he was dismissed for conducting private business which conflicted with his official status".