One of the tried and true memes of anti-Israel activists in the digital age is "Israel targets fishermen." It does happen, because apparently its more cost effective to use a boat in Gaza for smuggling, rather than actually fishing.
On Jan 19, the Israeli Navy and the Shin Bet intercepted a "fishing" boat traveling from Sinai to the Gaza Strip, carrying
material for the production of rockets and mortars.
This is precisely why there is a legal maritime blockade on Gaza.
From the J Post
During
questioning, the three suspects on board told the Shin Bet that their
smuggling attempt was aimed at assisting Hamas’s military wing, the
Izzadin Kassam Brigade, by providing it with raw material for building
rockets and mortar shells.
The Israel Police’s southern district
also took part in the investigation. According to security officials,
many details on sea-based smuggling attempts between Gaza and Sinai
emerged during the investigation, shedding light on how Hamas’s
military wing uses the Mediterranean as a smuggling route.
Hamas
also uses the sea for the smuggling civilian products to sell to Gaza’s
residents, and uses the profits for its purposes, the Shin Bet added.
“Recently,
Hamas has invested much in exploiting naval smuggling routes, partly
due to Egypt’s efforts to prevent smuggling tunnels that linked Sinai
and Gaza,” it said.
The three suspects captured on board the
boat were charged on Wednesday at the Beersheba District Court with a
range of security offenses.
Read it all here
No comments:
Post a Comment