Indictments Filed Against Two Palestinians Charged With Smuggling

Jerusalem, 9 January, 2017 (TPS) -- The State Attorney’s Office (Southern District) filed indictments Monday against Nofal Abu Siriya and Nader Massalma in the Be’er Sheva Magistrates Court, following a joint announcement by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), IDF and police investigators that they headed a network of smugglers.

Last month, investigators say they exposed the cell transporting dual-use equipment from Judea and Samaria to the Gaza Strip via the Kerem Shalom crossing last month. Israel requires a special permit for dual-use materials to enter Gaza. They said Abu Siriya smuggled hundreds of cameras, model airplanes and communications cables into Gaza for Ahmed Abu Nafar and Zaher Bitar, businessmen from the Gaza Strip who deal in security cameras.

They said the smuggled merchandise,some of which were designated for Hamas, was hidden in a consignment of various electronic goods, such as televisions, washing machines and refrigerators.

In addition, it was learned that several members of the network were aware that the smuggled cameras were designated – inter alia – for members of the Hamas military wing.