The State Prosecutor’s Office has filed the first indictments with the Be’er Sheva District Court in a serious case involving organized, systematic, and sophisticated smuggling of various goods into the Gaza Strip in exchange for financial gain, during wartime.
According to the indictments, the defendants carried out the acts while aware of the possibility that the prohibited goods would reach Hamas and its operatives, and even foresaw as a near certainty that their actions would assist the enemy in its war against the State of Israel. As a result, they are charged with aiding the enemy during wartime.
The indictments state that the smuggled goods included cartons of cigarettes, iPhones, batteries, communication cables, vehicle spare parts, and additional merchandise worth millions of shekels.
According to the indictments, some of the defendants served in the reserves and worked together with others to smuggle the goods by exploiting vulnerabilities at crossing points and presenting false representations of legitimate security activity. The goods were disguised, loaded, and transported along coordinated routes, using military clothing and coordination with contacts inside the Gaza Strip.
Indictments were filed against Eliran Algarabli (38) of Kiryat Gat; his brother Avi Algarabli (41) of Kiryat Ata; Imad al-Din Abu Mukh (55) of Baqa al-Gharbiyyeh; Ofer Sankar (41); Yosef Yochananov (39); Yuri Yakubov (42); Menachem Abutbul (39); Nadav Halfon (30) of Kiryat Gat; Meir Levi (26) of Beitar Illit; Oshri Dahan (39) of Talmei Eliyahu; Yaron (Beni) Peretz (52) of Noam; Atar Even (37) of Shaked; and against the company Anona, owned by Avi and Yaron.
In some cases, the goods were transferred in return for payment to defendants who were serving as active reservists, and they were therefore also charged with accepting bribes. The indictments also describe attempts to bribe additional reservists with authorization to move convoys into Gaza.
All defendants are charged with aiding the enemy during wartime, prohibited dealings in property for terror purposes, aggravated fraud, tax offenses, and violations of the Counter-Terrorism Law. Some are additionally charged with bribery.
The Prosecutor’s Office has requested the forfeiture of assets, including vehicles, real estate, and funds in bank accounts. The investigation was conducted by the Southern District investigative unit of Israel Police and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), and additional indictments in the case are expected in the coming days.