Fayez Matzbah Muhammad Atar – born in 1951, a resident of Beit Lahiya in Gaza, who holds a permit to enter Israel for commercial purposes – was arrested in June 2016 at Tarkumiya Crossing, in a joint Shin Bet -Israel Police-IDF operation, after it was learned that he was a courier for terrorist funds for Hamas terrorists in Yehuda and Shomron.

Atar had been asked by Hamas terrorists to smuggle – through the various crossings – funds for Hamas in Yehuda and Shomron. The cash was hidden in shoes that he wore for this purpose. He thus managed, on several occasions, to smuggle cash – amounting to tens of thousands of Euros – for various Hamas terrorists in Yehuda and Shomron; he was fully aware that the money was for Hamas.

Shin Bet investigators learned that members of Atar’s family were active in Hamas including in operations against IDF forces and in digging tunnels. It was learned that Atar’s sons used his home for Hamas meetings.

The investigation revealed information about the openings of tunnels that were located, for the most part, under civilian structures such as innocent residences and mosques, as well as about launching points for rockets that were located close to civilian structures, thus endangering the civilian population in Gaza.

Itallah Ali Abd Al-Karim Sirhan – born in 1979, a resident of Jebalya, who holds a permit to enter Israel for commercial purposes – was arrested in June 2016 at Erez crossing, in a joint Shin Bet -Israel Police-IDF operation, after he was caught trying to smuggle 10,000 Euros in his shoes, for Hamas terrorists in Yehuda and Shomron.

ISA investigators learned that Sirhan, who received the above permit only two weeks before his arrest, had been contacted on the day of his first entry in Israel by a Hamas policeman, who worked on the Gaza side of Erez Crossing, and who interested him in smuggling cash into Yehuda and Shomron.

In addition to the smuggling attempt on the day of his arrest, it was learned that on the day before his arrest, Sirhan had transferred hidden cash for terrorists.

Investigators discovered that Sirhan was fully aware that the money was for a terrorist organization in Yehuda and Shomron.

In the framework of Sirhan’s investigation, it became clear that he had previously worked for several months as a truck driver for a company that cleared away sand from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad tunnel excavation sites. Through his work, Sirhan was exposed to many such tunnel excavation sites. He divulged considerable information about openings of tunnel shafts including their exact locations and conditions, and the terrorist organizations responsible.

Beyond the considerable information that was obtained, this investigation underscored the cynical way in which Hamas exploits the willingness of the State of Israel to ease conditions for the civilian population in Gaza by issuing commercial permits to enter Israel and uses permit holders to advance its terrorist goals, thus deliberately harming the civilian population in Gaza.

The State of Israel allows, on a monthly basis, the entry of thousands of residents of Gaza for humanitarian medical and other needs. More than once, terrorist elements have exploited these permit holders for illegal purposes including the transfer of cash for terrorism.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)