Photos of seized arms ship cargo

Thursday, March 17, 2011 | Ryan Jones

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The Israeli military on Wednesday put on public display the huge arms cache it seized aboard the cargo ship Victoria two days earlier, arms that were destined for Hamas and its terrorist allies in the Gaza Strip.
Foreign journalists were invited to view the display, but most left before doing so due to lengthy security checks that government officials have since admitted were “extreme.”
The problem: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was viewing the arms cache at the same time, and his security detail weren’t about to let foreign reporters near him without making sure they were not a threat.
Because of the poor coordination, commentators said that Israel had missed a golden PR opportunity, and the IDF’s hard work in setting up the display had gone to waste.
That may not be entirely accurate, given the foreign media’s history of turning every story on its head and always finding a way to make Israel out to be the aggressor.
At any rate, the media had barely reported on the arms ship, despite the fact that it provided excellent justification for Israel’s maritime blockade, because they were far too busy analyzing every angle of Japan’s current crisis. Or perhaps the reason for their relative silence was precisely because the incident justified Israel’s actions.
Determined to do their best to get the word out, the officers of the IDF Spokesperson Unit posted photos of the arms cache at the following link:
Flickr: Israel Defense Forces' Photostream
Photos of Netanyahu inspecting the weapons can be seen here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/israelipmFlickr



Flickr: Israel Defense Forces' Photostream