Hamas laying groundwork to create new ('Palestinian') civilian casualties
A joint Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), Israel Police Southern District and IDF operation resulted in the arrest on June 16 of 65-year-old Faiz Atar from Bet Lahia in Gaza, who had a permit to enter Israel to conduct trade.It's not just Hamas that uses civilian infrastructure as a weapon in battle in order to create civilian casualties and international sympathy. You might recall that five years ago, Israeli intelligence published a map of southern Lebanon which showed where Hezbullah was doing the same thing. Israel is then left with the choice of allowing its own civilians to come under fire or being depicted as causing civilian casualties.
The suspect was taken into custody at the Tarkumia crossing between Israel and the West Bank.
The Shin Bet said the suspect hid cash in his shoes for Hamas, and smuggled tens of thousands of euros to terrorist operatives in the West Bank.
As the investigation continued, the domestic intelligence agency gleaned valuable information on Atar’s family in Gaza and their activities on behalf of Hamas, including tunnel digging.
“It emerged that his sons made use of his home to meet with Hamas operatives. The investigation revealed information on tunnel openings, which are partly located underneath civilian structures – including innocent civilian residential buildings and mosques – and rocket launch locations, which are located near civilian structures in a manner that endangers the civilian population in the Strip,” the Shin Bet said in a statement.
Meanwhile, a second investigation launched by the Shin Bet, Israel Police, and IDF forces also began with a terrorism-financing suspect and ended with additional intelligence on Gazan tunnels.
Security forces nabbed a Gazan resident at the Erez Crossing in June with 10,000 euros stuffed in his shoes, intended for Hamas operatives in the West Bank. When the suspect, identified as Jabaliya resident Itallah Sarahan, 37, was questioned, security forces learned that he received a permit to enter Israel for trade purposes two weeks prior to his arrest.
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The suspect works as a truck driver in Gaza, clearing sand from Hamas and Islamic Jihad tunnel digging sites. “Sarahan passed on much information about the tunnels he was exposed to, including which terrorist organization was responsible for digging which tunnels, their exact locations, and the status of the digging work,” the Shin Bet said.
The investigation underlines Hamas’s cynical use of Israeli efforts to ease economic conditions for the Gazan civilian population. Thousands of Gazans enter Israel every month for humanitarian, medical, and trade purposes, and Hamas often attempts to exploit these entries to transfer terrorist finances, the Shin Bet said.
But just give them a 'state' and they'll stop doing things like this. Right....
Labels: Hamas, Hezbullah, smuggling, terror tunnels
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:21 PM
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