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Israel intercepts illicit tools heading for Gaza terrorists
For the third time in two weeks, Israeli security forces yesterday thwarted an attempt to smuggle illicit materials destined for terrorists in the Gaza Strip to boost their capabilities to attack Israel.
Security staff at the Kerem Shalom crossing, one of two Gaza border crossings administered by Israel, intercepted a truck yesterday which according to the Defence Ministry included thousands of electronic welding devices jammed in between marble slabs. The Defence Ministry commented, “This is one of the biggest captures at Kerem Shalom crossing since Operation Protective Edge.” The equipment was apparently likely to be used to weld components for rockets and other explosive projectiles.
Last week, a shipment of advanced electronics equipment, including communications devices was intercepted at the same crossing. The Defence Ministry has said that since the start of 2015, more than 100 attempts “to smuggle forbidden goods and substances” have been thwarted by Israeli forces.
During 2015, Israel has introduced a range of measures meant to ease movement in and out of the Gaza Strip, in order to aid reconstruction. The amount of water Israel supplies to Gaza was doubled after a coastal aquifer had become ineffective. Israel also increased the number of entry and exit permits to Gaza merchants and has also facilitated the export of significant Gaza produce to the West Bank, an important market for the Gaza economy. However, the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip has remained largely closed by Cairo since October, after a suicide bombing in Sinai killed at least 30 Egyptian soldiers.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, a coalition of international aid groups, the Association of International Development Agencies, warned that reconstruction in Gaza since Operation Protective Edge had barely begun. It said that barely one quarter of the billions of pounds pledged by the international community for this purpose had been released so far and that a “paradigm shift” in the international community is required to improve the situation.