Navy arrests Hamas smuggler

A Hamas operative was picked up by the navy last month for attempting to smuggle explosive materials from Egypt into the Gaza Strip, the Shin Bet security service announces.

Khamis Jihad Said Ara’ish, 24, told interrogators he had been involved in a number of smuggling efforts since 2012 that brought materials into the Strip for the purpose of manufacturing weapons for Hamas, the Shin Bet says.

Ara’ishi was arrested by the navy after his ship “deviated from the approved sailing area” in August. His case was placed under a gag order, which has just been lifted.

His interrogation provided Israeli security forces with “detailed information about Hamas’s naval smuggling route between the Gaza Strip and Egpyt, along with information about the use of fisherman and smugglers along the route,” the agency says.

Ara’ishi and “his associates” had previously attempted to smuggle explosive materials into Gaza in April, but were prevented from doing so by the navy, the Shin Bet says.

A smuggling attempt that Ara’ishi planned to carry out around the time he was picked up was prevented with his arrest, the agency says.

During his interrogation, Ara’ishi told investigators he had also tried to carry out an attack against IDF troops in 2014, “performing lookouts and purchasing weaponry in order to get a promotion,” the agency says.

“The information that came up in the investigation, along with the investigations of other recently arrested Hamas terrorist operatives, revealed more of the efforts made by Hamas for progressing its violent terrorist activities, this time by taking advantage of the easing of restrictions that Israel has allowed for Gazan fishermen,” the Shin Bet says.

— Judah Ari Gross