The Shin Bet busted an alleged smuggling ring last month that is accused of bringing hundreds of cameras, toy airplanes and electrical cables hidden inside washing machines, refrigerators and television sets to the Hamas terrorist group in the Gaza Strip, the security service reveals.
One Palestinian from the West Bank, Nader Masalmeh, and another from the Gaza Strip, Nofal Abu Sraya, were picked up in December, the Shin Bet says, though details of the case were kept under a gag order.
An indictment has been filed against the two men in a Beersheba court.
Another two Gazan members of the smuggling ring, Ahmad Abu Nafer and Zahar Bitar, have yet to be arrested, the Shin Bet says.
The illicit goods, which Israel designates as having both civilian and military uses, were brought in to Gaza inside permitted appliances and were later unpackaged and sold within the coastal enclave.
Last November alone, hundreds of the cameras were smuggled into Gaza, the Shin Bet says.
The recipients of the illegal goods included Hamas — a fact which was known to at least some of the members of the smuggling ring, according to the Shin Bet.
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Monday, January 9, 2017
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