Israel indicts Gazan for smuggling Hamas explosives in medical supplies

Muta, 59, was arrested in April after attempting to smuggle explosive materials into Israel within medical supplies on behalf of Hamas.

By YONAH JEREMY BOB
Updated: MAY 19, 2017 04:13
Erez crossing (photo credit: REUTERS)
Erez crossing
(photo credit: REUTERS)
A Gazan woman was indicted in the Beersheba Magistrate’s Court on Thursday for smuggling explosive materials into Israel for Hamas.
The Southern District Attorney’s Office filed an indictment charging Abtasam Muta, 59, with prohibited activities with terrorist assets.
Muta had special Israeli approval to enter Israel to help her sister, who is sick with cancer, receive medical treatment.
She entered Israel around 10 times since September 2016 until her arrest in April.
On April 19, a Hamas agent in the Gaza Strip gave Muta concealed nitroglycerin in order to deliver it to an Israeli woman named Umm Shadi Husni, who would then give it to another Hamas agent, according to the indictment.
The concealed explosive material was discovered when the medical materials were inspected at the Erez crossing from the northern Gaza Strip to Israel, and Muta was arrested.
An initial Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) investigation indicated that the explosives were dispatched by Hamas and that the group was planning to carry out terrorist attacks in Israel in the near future, a statement read, adding that the material was destroyed by a sapper of the Southern District police.
“The terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, including Hamas, continue to exploit the humanitarian and medical assistance provided by Israel to the residents of the Gaza Strip in order to perpetrate terrorist attacks in Israel,” the Shin Bet said.
Anne Ahronheim contributed to this report.


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