Eight Arab residents of Jerusalem, a Gaza resident, and an Arab citizen of Israel have been arrested for helping Hamas circumvent Israeli law in order to pay terrorists in Israeli prisons. The alleged ringleader of the group, attorney Shirin Isawai, is also suspected of helping Hamas coordinate its prison activities.
Isawai, 32, was arrested at the Kalandia checkpoint near Jerusalem. She was caught with $100,000 in cash and 53,000 shekels.
Police arrested the lawyer in April, but kept the story under gag order until Monday as the investigation continued. On Monday, Isawai and three others were indicted in the Jerusalem District Court. Two of the other suspects have been identified as Isawai's brothers Madhat and Rafat.
As an attorney, Isawai frequently visited prisons and spoke to terrorist inmates. Investigators believe that she served as a go-between, bringing messages from prisoners to Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders in Gaza.
The Gaza terrorists would receive demands from the prisoners and determine how much money to give them. The money was sent to Jihad and Hamas supporters in Judea and Samaria, who gave it to Isawai and other members of the Jerusalem-based group she led. The group would then bring the money into Jerusalem and deposit it in accounts at a local post office. Several of the accounts were under the names of deceased Palestinian Authority Arabs.
The group's activities were in place of Hamas “charities” which previously deposited money for imprisoned terrorists. The “charities” were dubbed illegal by the Palestinian Authority and by Israel, which has limited the amount of cash each prisoner may receive per month to 1,300 shekels.
Among the prisoners who benefited from the extra funding were those who had been convicted for murder, including some serving life sentences.