Report: US military base in Israel linked to Gaza smuggling case

Israeli authorities probing whether foreign personnel stationed at US-run base in southern Israel helped Gaza smuggling ring.

By World Israel News Staff

Foreign military personnel serving at an American military facility in southern Israel may have been bribed by smuggling rings to facilitate the unauthorized entry of goods into the Gaza Strip, according to a report by i24NEWS published Tuesday night.

Earlier this month, prosecutors filed indictments against members of a smuggling ring accused of illegally transferring various goods into the Gaza Strip for profit.

The ring included Gazan and Israeli civilians, as well as IDF reservists who took advantage of their position in Gaza to smuggle goods into the coastal enclave.

Among the 12 suspects indicted this month is Bezalel Zini, the brother of David Zini, the new chief of the Shin Bet security agency.

According to the charge sheet filed by the State Attorney’s Office, the smuggling efforts benefited the Hamas terrorist organization, in particular through the entry of cigarettes and tobacco, which ended up under Hamas control and were sold to raise money for the group.

The indictments accused the 12 suspects of smuggling at least 3.9 million shekels ($1.26 million) worth of goods to the Gaza Strip, including cellphones, batteries, car parts, cigarettes, and tobacco.

Israeli authorities reportedly suspect that, in addition to the smuggling ring that used IDF reservists to smuggle goods, established crime syndicates may have established a separate smuggling route, bribing foreign personnel serving at the US-run Civil-Military Coordination Center in Kiryat Gat to help the criminal organizations illegally transfer goods to contacts inside the Gaza Strip.

The CMCC, housing some 200 American service members and hundreds of other foreign personnel, is responsible for coordinating the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.

France, Germany, and Britain have all deployed personnel to the CMCC, assisting in logistical operations.

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