ISRAEL SAYS STOPPED GAZA ARMS-RUNNING ATTEMPTS

Al-Quds (Occupied Jerusalem), 23 Rabu’ul Akhir 1436/13 February 2015 (MINA) – Israel’s Shin Bet security service said on Wednesday that in a joint operation with the navy it foiled an attempt to sail rocket-making materials from Egypt into Gaza.

It said in a statement that three Gazans appeared in an Israeli court charged with “security offenses” after being arrested at sea last month with a cargo of liquid fiberglass.

It added that under interrogation, the men said the substance was intended for the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, “and was meant to provide the raw material used to produce rockets and mortars,”  Ma’an News Agency quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

Hamas has issued no statement on any interception.

Shin Bet said seaborne smuggling attempts have increased recently as a result of the Egyptian army’s destruction of hundreds of tunnels between its troubled Sinai region and the neighboring Palestinian territory where Hamas is the de facto power.

Since Egypt’s military ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013, the authorities have accused Hamas of aiding militants who have waged a string of deadly attacks on Egyptian security forces in the Sinai.

Hamas has strongly denied the accusations.

The Gaza Strip has been under a severe economic blockade imposed by Israel since 2007.

The blockade was imposed following the victory of Hamas in the 2006 Palestinian elections and the subsequent 2007 clashes between Fatah and Hamas, which left Hamas in control of the Strip and Fatah in control of the West Bank.

The blockade has severely limited the imports and exports of the Gaza Strip and has led to frequent humanitarian crises and hardship for Gazans. (T/P010/P3)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)