The 3 Palestinian suspects captured by the Israel Navy on January 19 were charged on Wednesday at the Beersheva District Court with a range of maritime & security offenses.

The Israel Navy and the Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency jointly intercepted a boat traveling from the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt to the Gaza Strip, carrying material for the production of rockets and mortars, security forces announced on Wednesday.

The navy patrols off the coast of Gaza. – Archive Photo: YAAKOV LAPPIN

The capture occurred on January 19, when the boat, carrying liquid fiberglass and three Gaza residents, was intercepted by the navy.

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 Al-Kassam Brigades, 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 forces, 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 of 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 stated.

The three suspects captured on board the boat were charged on Wednesday at the Beersheva District Court with a range of security offenses.

In November, a senior navy source told The Jerusalem Post about several attempts by Gazan terrorists to smuggle weapons and goods to the Strip by sea, adding that sea-based routes have become more attractive for Hamas.

“This poses a threat. There have been a number of smuggling attempts in recent months that we have thwarted. We are monitoring the area day and night; thwarting smuggling is one of our central missions. We will not allow Hamas to build up its [military] force via sea smuggling,” the source stated at the time.

Hamas rebuilding military capabilities. – Photo: ARAB MEDIA

The increase in attempts to smuggle weapons and contraband into Gaza involves Palestinian fishing boats that head out into the Mediterranean, sail to the Egyptian coast, load cargo, and attempt to return to Gaza. The route has been used for years, but the scope of such attempted runs is expanding, according to the source.

“There has been an increase in these attempts in light of strict Egyptian enforcement against smuggling on the ground in Sinai,” the source said. “This has made sea channels more attractive.”

But only some of the smuggling vessels carry arms, the source said.

Others contain contraband, ranging from cigarettes to fishing equipment.

“Every time, it’s something different on board,” he said.

View original The Jerusalem Post publication at: http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Israel-Navy-Shin-Bet-intercept-attempt-to-ship-weapon-material-to-Gaza-390738