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Israel foils attempt to allegedly smuggle scuba gear to Hamas frogmen
 [IsraelTimes] Defense Ministry finds dozens of wet suits it says were going to terror group’s naval command unit in Gazoo Strip.Israeli officials thwarted an attempt to smuggle wet suits into the Gazoo Strip, apparently bound for Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",’s naval commando unit, the Defense Ministry said Monday, days after an Israeli official warned the terror group was increasingly exploring the possibility of seaborne attacks on Israel. The ministry’s Crossing Authority, working with the Shin Bet security service, found some 30 professional-grade scuba suits hidden in a shipment of sporting wear that was heading for the coastal enclave through the Kerem Shalom Crossing. The wet suits came from abroad to an importer in the Paleostinian Authority, who forwarded them along to Gazoo, "without the required coordination," the ministry said in a statement. In an effort to keep scuba gear out of the hands of Hamas, wet suits cannot be imported into the Gazoo Strip without a special permit. "The shipment was confiscated, and an investigation was opened into locating those involved in the smuggling," the Defense Ministry said. Last week, a navy officer warned that Hamas was increasingly turning to the sea as a potential path for attacks against Israeli civilians and military personnel. "We see rearming on every level on the sea-front -- systems, weapons and trainings. Hamas sees the sea as an option to achieve its aggressive, operational ambitions," Maj. Irad Shtatar told The Times of Israel. "In parallel, we are tracking these developments to make sure that we have a response to these threats," he added. Posted by: trailing wife 2017-04-04 |
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