Israel stopped a lot of Gaza smuggling in 2016. Illustrative photo of commando knives apprehended amid shipment of plumbing materials destined for Gaza. Photo courtesy of Israel Ministry of Defense Crossing Authority
Drones, military clothing, and professional-grade diving equipment were among the myriad items that terrorists tried to smuggle into Gaza last year, but Israel’s efforts to stop such smuggling was even better in 2016. More than 1,200 smuggling attempts were stopped by Israel, which is a 165% increase over 2015, according to a press release from the Israeli Ministry of Defense. The press release noted that dozens of investigations by Israeli security forces “resulted in significant damage of the smuggling infrastructure in the south.”
That doesn’t mean that terrorists such as Hamas didn’t try. The variety of items that were attempted to be smuggled into the Strip included small UAVs, security cameras, lasers, rappelling equipment, dual-use fiberglass, water pumps, and iron pipes. The head of the Israeli Ministry of Defense Crossing Authority, Brig. Gen. (res) Kamil Abu-Rokon, said in the press release, “The defense establishment’s bitter war against smugglers has noticeably slowed the strengthening of terrorist buy viagra online yahoo answers groups in Gaza. In recent months, we have… added technologies and new testing methods that add to our abilities in the daily struggle against the smugglers.”
Brig. Gen. Abu-Rokon noted that at the main crossing into Gaza they have installed a new shipment screening system that is the “most advanced in the world.”
Israel maintains the anti-smuggling efforts on Gaza to prevent terrorists from obtaining weapons, military gear or dual-use items that can be used in making homemade weapons and gear.
The threat against Israel from Gaza was only reemphasized on Sunday, as the IDF Spokesperson Twitter account reported that shots were fired from the Strip at Israeli military forces on the border. While a military vehicle was hit, no injuries were reported. Israel responded with tank fire that targeted a Hamas post in Gaza, according to the Twitter report.
The press release said the increase in foiled attempts was due to an increase in truck traffic bring items into Gaza, an expanded list of items controlled by Israel, and “increased deterrence among truck drivers resulting in decreased cooperation with the smugglers.”
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, January 15, 2017)