Three Palestinian navy officers suspected of involvement in the smuggling of weapons on board the Karine Acargo ship have been arrested, a Palestinian security source said today. However, Israel expressed serious doubts at the statement.
"Vice-admirals Fuad Shubaki and Fethi Razem, along with Adel Moghrabi, were arrested on Wednesday evening for the requirements of the inquiry," the source said on condition of anonymity.
An official commission of inquiry, set up by the Palestinian Authority yesterday, ordered the arrest of the three officers. The order was approved by Palestinian leader Mr Yasser Arafat, the commission said in a statement.
The commission said it had called on Israel to help in the inquiry, adding that the US, the UN and the EU could join the investigations if it so wished.
However, the Israeli cabinet said in a statement today that "Fuad Shubaki is currently in Ramallah and therefore there is no way he has been arrested."
"Fethi Razem and Adel Moghrabi are nowhere in the territories under the control of the Palestinian Authority and cannot as a result have been arrested," the statement concludes.
But the Palestinian security source said "some of the people mentioned are in Ramallah and were arrested there."
Israel claimed that the 50 tonnes of weaponry it seized in the Red Sea's international waters last week were bound for the Palestinian Authority.
AFP