Gazan indicted for planning attacks on Jews in Ukraine, Israel

Sami Haviv, 30, was charged in an indictment filed by the Southern District Attorney's Office with several counts relating to terror activities.

By YONAH JEREMY BOB
Updated: MARCH 3, 2016 23:41
Niña palestina celebra el aniversario número 27 de Hamás(Credito: REUTERS) (photo credit: REUTERS)
Niña palestina celebra el aniversario número 27 de Hamás(Credito: REUTERS)
(photo credit: REUTERS)
A Gazan man who spent years living in Ukraine was indicted on Thursday in the Beersheba District Court for planning attacks against Jews in Ukraine and in Israel.
Sami Haviv, 30, was charged in an indictment filed by the Southern District Attorney’s Office with several counts relating to terrorist activities, spying and falsifying documents.
According to the indictment, the plots, hatched from Ukraine between 2014 and 2016, included luring an IDF general to Sinai to kidnap him and bring him to Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and to attack a bus of Israeli tourists in Ukraine with gunfire or a bomb.
Haviv selected Odessa as his target city having observed that many Israeli tourists come through there.
He started to plan an attack in which he would use a small electronic remote control airplane, purchasable for $300-$500, to deliver a 5 kilogram explosive.
Another plot involved recruiting Israeli Arabs who admire Islamic State to carry out suicide bombings in Israel.
Before moving to Ukraine in 2010, Haviv assisted Hamas fighters in various ways during the 2008-9 Gaza war (Operation Cast Lead) and in general from 2006 to 2010.
Eventually, Haviv got his family to forge a document to the effect that his mother in Gaza was sick, in order that he would be able to gain entry to the Strip via Israel.
Based on the forged document, the IDF’s civil administration approved Haviv for entry to Gaza. However, he was arrested after crossing the Allenby Bridge from Jordan on January 31, while trying to head fo