The Ministry of Defense's National Counterterrorism Bureau announced on Thursday that it had uncovered a terrorist financing infrastructure for Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank . The scheme was exposed in a joint operation of the IDF, the Tax Authority and the Shin Bet.

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It is suspected that Hamas used textile merchants who import large containers into the Gaza Strip. Senior Hamas figure Hamed Khudari, through his financial exchange business, declared by Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman as a terrorist organization, contacted Gaza businessmen and persuaded them to work with him in exchange for financial benefits.

Impounded merchandise (Photo: Tax Authority Spokesperson)

(Photo: Tax Authority Spokesperson)

Thousands of textile products were supposed to be sold to Gaza residents, ostensibly earmarked for Hamas activity in Gaza and the West Bank, among other things, for paying salaries to Hamas operatives and their families, arms purchases and funding of hostile terrorist activity.

(Photo: Tax Authority Spokesperson)

With the help of intelligence and operational activities in the field, security forces, together with customs officials of the Israel Tax Authority, managed to confiscate several containers under an administrative seizure order signed by Defense Minister Lieberman.

In recent days an order was signed by Minister Lieberman to seize four containers in the port of Ashdod with tens of thousands of dollars of textile products destined for the Gaza Strip has. These containers are I addition to two previous containers seized by Ashdod customs officials about two weeks ago.