Goods purchased by Islamic Jihad seized
Cleared for publication: Security forces, customs authority seize containers on suspicion goods were purchased by Islamic Jihad and meant to be used for terror group activity
Security forces and the customs authority confiscated shipping containers with goods worth tens of thousands of dollars at the Port of Ashdod on suspicion they were purchased by the Islamic Jihad terror group.
The story was cleared for publication Sunday.
The goods were purchased by a Palestinian businessman in the Gaza Strip, Fayez Abu Aker, known to the security services for his connections with terror groups. Security officials suspect Islamic Jihad is resorting to money laundering in order to fund its activities.
The group’s leadership abroad has recently increased its financial support to terror cells in the Gaza Strip and the West Ban, officials said.
Security officials estimate that hundreds of thousands of dollars were funneled to the Islamic Jihad in 2005, allowing the group to carry out deadly attacks in Israel despite its promise to abide by intra-Palestinian truce understandings.
The funds were used to sustain the group’s terror infrastructure responsible for thee major suicide bombing attack in Israel this year: At The Stage nightclub in Tel Aviv in February; at a shopping mall in Netanya in July; and at the Hadera market in October. 16 Israelis died in these attacks.
