The Shin Bet announces that a Hamas operative who fled the Gaza Strip to Israel brought with him valuable intelligence on the terror group for which he worked.
Izz al-Din Hussein, 24, sought to swim to the Jewish state from Gaza on June 28 amid family problems and concerns of “persecution and defamation by senior Hamas figures,” the Shin Bet says in a statement.
Izz al-Din Hussein. (Shin Bet)
Upon crossing into Israeli waters, Hussein was promptly arrested by naval forces who transferred him to the Shin Bet for interrogation.
During his questioning, investigators learned that Hussein had enlisted in Hamas’s military wing in 2013 and began working in aerial defense in 2018, where he headed the shoulder-fired missile unit, the Shin Bet says.
He held an anti-aircraft missile in his house and was told to launch it at an Israeli military chopper if one nears his home, in order to kidnap or kill IDF soldiers, the statement adds.
Hussein has been charged with “grave security offenses” at the Beersheba District Court, the Shin Bet says.
— with Jacob Magid
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From the Liveblog of
Thursday, July 30, 2020
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