Israel intercepts chemicals used for rocket fuel production meant for Hamas

Israel thwarted yet another attempt by Hamas to smuggle materials for its terror war against Israel.

By: Aryeh Savir, World Israel News

Israeli security forces intercepted a Palestinian truck carrying hundreds of liters of banned chemical substance that can be used for rocket production, en route from Hebron to Gaza, Israel’s Defense Ministry revealed on Monday.

The truck was registered as carrying a delivery of soybean oil, but the vehicle aroused the suspicion of the Defense Ministry’s Crossings Authority inspectors, and a preliminary chemical test on the oil containers discovered an unidentified substance.

The material was sent to a lab for chemical analysis, where it became apparent that the material was TDI, a dual-use chemical, which is prohibited by Israel from entering the Gaza Strip because it serves as a primary component of rocket fuel, and is used by Hamas and Islamic Jihad in their rocket production program in Gaza.

The 450 liters of TDI would have been sufficient for the production of a “large quantity of rockets of various types,” the Defense Ministry said.

The findings of the lab tests were transferred to the security authorities, who launched an investigation into those involved in the shipment of the illicit materials.

Israel’s combined security agencies have been successful in thwarting more than 500 attempts to smuggle illicit materials from Israel into the Gaza Strip since the beginning of 2015. Over 280 trucks have been confiscated as a result of illegal activity over the course of 2014.

As a result of the security forces’ operations against sources in Israel, the terrorists have moved their smuggling activities over to areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority (PA) in Judea and Samaria. Israeli Security forces will continue with their operations to thwart the smuggling attempts, the ministry stated.

In many of the incidents, the smuggled materials are meant for Hamas’ rocket production program or its military build-up.

In April, Israel caught 18 tons of special “metallurgical coke” coal which is used as fuel in firing furnaces to forge metals, en route to Gaza.

In March, Israel uncovered an efficient network operated by Hamas to acquire and smuggle materials used for strengthening the organization’s military infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.

By means of this network, Hamas purchased and brought into the Strip thousands of tons of raw materials that were used in its military installations and training facilities in order to prepare terror tunnels and for the manufacture of war material.

In January, Israeli naval forces successfully intercepted a shipment of materials used for weapons-production on its way to Gaza. Three Palestinians were caught trying to smuggle liquid fiberglass, which is used to manufacture rockets and mortars.

Since Israel decimated Hamas’ terror infrastructure during Operation Protective Edge, Hamas has been working relentlessly to rehabilitate its networks and replenish its weapons stockpiles.