Operation Derech Netz

Operation Derech Netz was a raid carried out by the missile ship flotilla and the 13th flotilla of the Israeli Navy in which the forces of the 13th flotilla in the port of Anaba in Algeria sank the ship "Moon Light" on April 15, 1985, one of the two ships intended to be used by the Ash organization in order to carry out a bargaining attack in Israel.

Operation Derech Netz
Map of Algeria
Date 4th April, 1985 - 20th April, 1985 Location Anaba port, Algeria Result Sanking of the ship Moon Light
Belligerents
Israel	PLO
Commanders and leaders
Col. Shimon Meir Col.Yedidia Yaari	Abu Jihad
Strength
Shayetet 13	Cargo ship Moon Light and Atbiros
Casualties and losses
None	One Cargo ship sank

Background

The period is after the removal of the Palestinian militants from Lebanon and before their move to Israel as part of the Oslo Accords.

Intelligence information gathered by the Israeli intelligence community indicated the PLO 's intention to carry out a coordinated attack in Israel on Memorial Day for the fallen of Israel's forces . The attack was planned by Abu Jihad, and as part of it, terrorists were supposed to sail from Algeria to Israel as undercover passengers, hidden in a container on board a ship. Cargo. It was planned that the terrorists got off the ship 60 miles off the coast of Tel Aviv on three rubber boats equipped with guns, RPG-7 launchers and explosives .

Upon their arrival at Bat Yam beach, it was planned that the terrorists would sink or bury the rubber boats, and then take over a bus full of passengers. The terrorists planned to infiltrate the Kriya base with the bus, where they were supposed to take senior officers as hostages, in addition to the bus passengers. In exchange for the hostages, the terrorists planned to demand the release of about 150 Arab prisoners imprisoned in Israel. If the operation went wrong, it was planned that the terrorists would shoot for mass killing. For the purpose of the operation, the PLO purchased two medium-sized cargo ships, "Moon Light" and "Atbiros", which were anchored in the city of Annaba in eastern Algeria, near the Tunisian border, a distance of 2,900 kilometers from the coast of Israel.

After a discussion at the general staff, the chief of staff, Moshe Levy, decided to accept the recommendation of the commander of the Navy, Major General Avraham Ben Shoshan, to sink the ships in the port of origin, in a raid by the 13th Fleet. The commander of the Missile Ship Fleet, Shimon Meir, was determined to be the commander of the operation, and the 13th flotilla force was commanded by Yedidia Yaari, the commander of the 13th flotilla and later the commander of the navy.

The operation

The force included vessels of the 13th Fleet and four missile ships The command ship Achi Romeh (Sar 4.5) under the command of Major Oded Breyer, Achi Keshet (Sar 4.5), under the command of Major Hazi Mishita, carrying a naval force of 13. Achi Geula under the command of Major Israel Avraham and brother Independence under the command of Major Ofer Dubnov, security ships under the command of Lt. Col. Roni Icher.

After a long voyage of about two weeks in stormy seas, the navy ships arrived near the port of Annaba. On the night of April 14/15, 1985, the sailing force on rubber ships, under the command of Yedidia Yaari, entered the port of Annaba. Two pairs of divers infiltrated the harbor in a secret dive, one pair was sent to sink the ship "Moon Light", planted three explosive charges against the side of the ship, and a second pair was sent to search among the many ships for "Atbiros", despite intelligence received that it had already left the port . The divers retreated back to the cruiser boats and from them joined the navy ships that were waiting near the port. Loading the vessels of the 13th fleet onto the missile ships was difficult, due to the strong wind and high waves, and lasted until first light. A few minutes after the naval force was safely loaded onto the ship, the explosive device exploded and the ship "Moon Light" sank.

Aftermath

Main article: Destruction of the Ateviros

Following the non-finding of the second PLO ship, the "Atbiros", in the port of Anaba, the patrols of the Israel Defense Forces along Israel's coasts were increased. Indeed, the "Atbiros" was already on its way to Israel with about twenty terrorists and eight crew members on board.

Naval Commander Shimon Meir announced that he was organizing to scan the sector. But the commander of the navy Avraham ben Shoshan ordered to return the operation ships that had been at sea for a long time to Haifa. On April 20 at 10:00 p.m., the missile ship Ahi Moladat under the command of Lt. Col. Dani Halevi detected a large group of ships sailing north from the Port Said area .

At 11:15 p.m. the commander of Achi Moladat chose to focus on a target that was moving towards the northeast. During the approach he was able to identify the name of the ship in a searchlight. At this point the "Atbiros" turned back towar the Egyptian territorial waters. Achi Moladat continued to follow it and at 11:00 p.m.: 37 The ship was identified with certainty based on external details of the ship's structure.

Calls to identify themselves and to stop on the international communication channel called by the fighters of Ahi Muledt were not answered. At 00:09 a warning shot was fired at the ship. At 00:30 a shot was fired at the bow of the ship. At 00:47 a shot was fired at the bridge of the ship. on the bridge of the ship and an RPG rocket was fired from it at the Israeli steel. In response, the IDF opened fire on the ship with a cannon which resulted in the explosion of the ammunition on board and its immediate sinking.

Achi Moldet collected eight survivors from the water. Their investigation began immediately after they were put on the navy ships. The investigation revealed that the terrorists' ship was planned to take off the terrorists' boats about two hours later than the time it was captured. When it became clear that the terrorists did not have time to unload boats from the ship, the high alert level in Israel was lowered.