Hundreds of Israelis mounted vantage points on Mt. Carmel today, scanning the sea with binoculars in the hope of sighting the five French-built gunboats that defied the arms embargo and are reportedly headed for Israel. The Israeli Government has maintained strict silence on the affair. The gunboats passed through the Straits of Gibraltar on Saturday. Later dispatches indicated that they had rendezvoused with Israeli warships somewhere between Sicily and Sardinia. The boats were reported to have refueled from an Israeli tanker in the Mediterranean.
The boats are capable of 40 knots (46 land miles per hour) and if run at full speed should be in Israeli waters sometime today. Haifa is the home base of the Israel Navy.
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