Israeli military officer to stand trial for smuggling goods, aiding Hamas

Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and the Shin Bet security service have arrested a major in the Israeli military on charges of smuggling goods from Israel into the Gaza Strip and facilitating the transfer of an Israeli citizen into Gaza.

According to the IDF, the Military Prosecutor’s Office filed an indictment against the officer on April 29. 

“The officer was arrested several months ago on charges of smuggling goods (including phones, cigarettes, batteries, electric bicycles, laptops, and network routers) worth millions of shekels into the Gaza Strip with the involvement of an Israeli citizen, as well as illegally bringing that citizen into the Gaza Strip. According to the indictment, the officer used his official position to bypass controls, providing false information about a ‘legitimate’ military operation.

The indictment states that these actions could have assisted terrorist organisations, including Hamas. The IDF, Shin Bet, and Israel Police consider smuggling into the Gaza Strip a serious security threat to the country, especially when members of the military are involved. All law enforcement agencies will continue to investigate such cases and bring those responsible to justice,” the army’s statement said.

By Jeyhun Aghazada