The Israeli Southern District Public Prosecution handed over on Sunday an indictment to the Beer Sheva District Court against the 23- year-old Gazan fisherman Mahmoud Said Al-Saidi, who was charged with several offenses including making of contact with foreign agents, engagement in criminal activity and serving ‘terror organizations’.
Al-Saidi was accused of communicating with Hamas and smuggling weapons, explosives, diving equipment and cigarettes from Egypt to Hamas in Gaza Strip.
The public prosecution pointed out, in the indictment, that Al-Saidi attempted to carry out smuggling operations of delivering diving equipment and weapons to Hamas across the sea, but the Egyptian army arrested him same day and handed him over to the Israeli army, who later sent him for investigations at the Shin Bet security service.
Israel: Gaza fisherman charged with smuggling diving equipment for Hamas from Egypt, he also allegedly tried to smuggle weapons into Gaza pic.twitter.com/MUBFVSXBca
— Yiddish News (@YiddishNews) November 6, 2016
The indictment came after the Egyptian army has arrested Al-Saidi within Gaza boarders and handed him over to the Israeli army, who transferred him to Shin Bet public security service.
The indictment also reported that Al-Saidi received a boat from Hamas for the execution of the smuggling operations, adding that he later attempted to smuggle explosives amounting to 200kg for $1,200 from Egypt to Gaza Strip.
The operation was thwarted when he was spotted by the Egyptian army, prompting its soldiers to fire upon him, injuring one of his accomplices in the process.
(MA’AN, PC)
