Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin on Tuesday warned of the dangers of an unprecedented arms build-up in the Gaza Strip, estimating that terror groups there smuggled huge quantities of explosives from Egypt last year.
Speaking to members of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Diskin said terror groups in Gaza had been cashing in on a lull with Israel to improve the firing range of the makeshift rockets they fire at Israel and to prepare for a possible confrontation with the Israeli army.
He added that 31 tons of explosives were smuggled into the coastal territory last year, six times more than the average amount smuggled in previous years.
In addition, hundreds of Hamas gunmen were being sent to Iran to undergo military training, the Shin Bet head said.
He also said that the Israeli army would find it increasingly difficult to operate in the Gaza Strip in the coming years because of the soaring crowdedness.
Asked about the chances of Hamas and Fatah overcoming their differences to form a national unity government, Diskin described the relations between the two rival factions as a "ticking bomb." He said it was highly likely that bloody confrontations would erupt between gunmen from both factions but estimated that the unity government would be formed before March 23, the date of the Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia.
Meretz head and committee member MK Yossi Beilin said that direct talks with the Palestinians were the best means to curb the arms build-up in the Gaza Strip.
"We need to make efforts to curb this phenomenon, and the political channel is the best for this purpose," Beilin said.
National Union-NRP MK Tsvi Hendel said a large-scale military operation in Gaza was the only way to weaken terror groups there.
"The danger of this crazy armament, which has not stopped since the destruction of the Gush Katif settlement block, demands that Israel launches a massive land operation to clean up the terror infrastructure in Gaza," he said.
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