A Raid on the Red Sea: The Israeli Capture of the Karine A by Amos Gilboa & Yonah Jeremy Bob

Author:Amos Gilboa & Yonah Jeremy Bob [Gilboa, Amos & Bob, Yonah Jeremy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781640123571
Goodreads: 54176081
Publisher: Potomac Books
Published: 2021-03-01T00:00:00+00:00

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Meshita got to the prime minister’s house by the skin of his teeth, just in time. He was given coffee and cakes as he waited for Mofaz and his crowd of commanders to arrive—noticeably late. Arranging seating at the prime minister’s conference table, Mofaz placed Meshita next to him: “Hezi, you sit next to me. I’ll open, and then you’ll present the intelligence and the operation.”

When Sharon entered and asked where they were coming from, Mofaz told him about the fast-roping training exercises. Mofaz said he had wanted to give it a try.

Sharon, who often was self-deprecating about his weight, seemed to mischievously imply that he was glad Mofaz and the young commandos were dealing with fast-roping issues as it would be too much for him. The prime minister was also often the first one to take sandwiches at meetings such as this one (he particularly enjoyed hot dogs in a bun with pickles), and he might even be known to take two sandwiches at a time.

Mofaz opened the meeting by presenting the strategic big picture, which he knew was Sharon’s focus. Sharon wanted to know from him if there was any end in sight to the suicide bombings and other attacks that Arafat as well as terrorist groups such as Hamas were promoting against Israel. Mofaz was doing his best, but he did not have good news in that arena. But today Mofaz wanted to shift Sharon’s attention from the daily battle against dangerous but small-time terrorist attacks to understanding the significance of the Karine A.

Sharon’s decades-long opponent, Arafat, had figured out a way to potentially alter the balance of power and threaten large Israeli cities such as Ashdod and Ashkelon with massive rocket fire. Such an attack would cause great devastation and make the suicide bus bombings seem a minor footnote. Mofaz looked hard at Sharon and suggested he listen very carefully to Meshita’s presentation about the Karine A threat, which could bring long-range powerful rockets from Iran and Hezbollah to Arafat.

Meshita presented all the details. Then he summarized, “We are 100 percent sure about the ship, and regarding the weapons we have very strong signs but have not achieved certainty. But just like a suicide bomber, even if you are not sure that he has an explosive vest, you shoot him. The same goes with this dirty ship.”

Sharon interjected with questions about the Karine A: Were they sure the ship was connected to Arafat and the PA, and how could they be so sure? Sharon knew that even if Israel managed to catch the Karine A, Arafat would use all of his guile to cover up his involvement and avoid blame. What would be the plan if they were wrong, the ship was a legitimate commercial venture, and Israel faced global criticism for jumping the gun and grabbing the wrong ship?

Being a former general, Sharon also asked serious operational questions: How would the navy deal with capturing the Karine A if confronted with stormy weather?

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