A joint operation between the Israel Security Agency (ISA or Shin Bet) and the Israel Police's Southern District culminated in the arrest of a Hamas terrorist on Wednesday at the Erez crossing into Gaza.
Ahmad Muhammad Barim, 36, a resident of Bani Suheila in Gaza, transferred hundreds of tons of construction materials destined for reconstruction of civilian and municipal buildings in the area directly to Hamas, under the guise of working as a trader.
The transfer of the materials circumvented a United Nations (UN) monitoring mechanism designed to ensure that the terror group used the materials for civilian purposes.
The ISA stated after the bust that this is further evidence of Hamas's cynical exploitation of resources, taking advantage of the donations intended for reconstruction and development of civilian infrastructure in Gaza and using them for terror.
The defense establishment sees the incident as very serious and intends to continue to identify and thwart the smuggling of building materials for the purposes of terrorism, while prosecuting all those involved.
The Be'er Sheva District Court filed an indictment against Barim this week, charging him with three counts of offenses against state security, including providing services to a terrorist organization.