Some of the seized phony 'paint thinner'
Some of the seized phony 'paint thinner'Customs Authority

Tax and Customs Authority workers successfully prevented 15 tons of sulfuric acid from being smuggled into Gaza.

Authority officials released for publication the interdiction of the shipment which had been brought to Ashdod by ship, and was headed for Gaza.

The Authority worked with the Israel Security Agency and other security agencies in the interdiction, it said in a statement. The shipment was seized before it reached the Nitzanim crossing into Gaza.

The importers declared that the shipment contained 30 tons of paint thinner – an awful lot of thinner, enough to thin paint in 30,000 to 50,000 rooms, based on the usual amount used to paint rooms.

Suspicious inspectors examined the shipment, discovering the bad-smelling sulfuric acid, and seizing the entire shipment.

Had the seized sulfuric acid been allowed to enter Gaza, it would have been sufficient to manufacture three tons of TNT – enough for several hundred Kassam rockets, at the least, the officials said.

The officials emphasized that sulfuric acid is among the material banned from entering Gaza for precisely this reason.

In recent months, officials have seized dozens of similar shipments, as well as shipments of other material for rocket manufacture and other terror attacks, including fiberglass, coal for metal manufacturing, and diving gear.