Ceasefire violator: Gaza merchant fearing for his livelihood
Mortar shells fired towards Israel several days ago threatened stability of shaky truce. Now Palestinians say man behind launch was sunflower seed merchant who feared opening of border crossings would leave him overstocked. Hamas has taken him into custody
The volatile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was nearly shattered several days ago after several mortar shells were fired from the Gaza Strip towards the community of Nahal Oz.
But what may have obliterated any achievements made in the negotiations with the Palestinians was not one of Hamas' rival armed groups, seeking to disrupt the truce out of ideological objections, but rather a sunflower seed merchant who feared the opening of Gaza's border crossings would have a negative effect on his sales.
Ynet has learned that Hamas has taken the merchant into custody several days ago. The man, a resident of the Sajayia neighborhood in Gaza City, solicited family members to fire the mortar rounds.
The trader's plot counted on Israel to respond to the attack by refusing to open the border crossings, thereby preventing the delivery of commodities to the Strip. By doing so, he would be able to continue selling the merchandise he was currently stocking – Egyptian seeds of a poorer quality than those imported from Israel.
None of the armed groups in Gaza assumed responsibility for the attack on Nahal Oz, and a hurried investigation into the incident by Hamas security forces led them to the calculating merchant. He confessed to the charges and explained he feared he would "get stuck" with a massive stockpile of goods he would not be able to sell due to the clear preference Gaza's residence have shown for the Israeli product.
He told the investigators that he had paid relatives, young men from a well-known Gaza clan, to stage the shelling.
The merchant, and the youths who carried out the mortar attacks, are still in Hamas' custody. In Gaza the speedy result is touted as a testament to Hamas' determination to maintain the ceasefire.
Despite having declared it would not play border guard for Israel, Hamas is dedicating considerable efforts to reining in the other armed groups. The Islamist group hopes to see all the border crossings opened over the next few days, save for the Rafah terminal, which remains at the center of Hamas' talks with Egypt.
A source from one of the other organizations told Ynet that Hamas forces are not patrolling the region to prevent the fire, but are instead trying to keep the other Gaza groups committed to the truce by having established an operations room with representation from all the various factions.
