The Shin Bet, in conjunction with the police, arrested an Israeli citizen resident of the Negev, along with his wife, in January on suspicion of having ties with Hamas terrorists abroad, the Shin Bet announced on Monday.
The investigation revealed that the 53-year-old suspect, Osama al-Okbi, identified with Hamas ideology and transferred financial aid to Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip, amounting to tens of thousands of shekels.
Al-Okbi found the funds through charity, collecting donations from mosques in the Negev, which he would subsequently transfer to the hands of the Hamas in the Strip, the Shin Bet said.
Contact with senior Hamas officials
The Shin Bet also noted that the suspect was in contact several times with senior Hamas officials during trips to Turkey, using his wife’s presence as a cover story. On these occasions, al-Okbi raised funds for Hamas’s terror activities.
During his most recent trip to Turkey, in June 2023, al-Okbi met with the then-head of Hamas’s political bureau Saleh al-Arouri, who was killed in Lebanon in January 2024.
The State Attorney's Office filed to the Be'er Sheva District Court an indictment against Osama al-Okbi for contact with a foreign agent and terrorist offenses.
Al-Okbi was charged with the offenses of contact with a foreign agent, prohibition of dealing with terrorist property, and prohibition of dealing with property for terrorist purposes, the State Attorney said.