Hamas operative charged with planting explosives, firing rockets at Israel
Other charges include providing illegal military training to operatives, conspiring to commit murder, attempted murder, membership in an unlawful organization and numerous weapons offenses.
By YONAH JEREMY BOB, DANIEL J. ROTHUpdated: MAY 2, 2016 00:37A gunman from the Izz ad-Din al- Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, photographed inside an underground tunnel in Gaza, in 2014.(photo credit: REUTERS)
Madhat Bin Fuzi Abu Snina from Gaza was indicted on Sunday, accused of a range of security offenses including planting explosives at IDF positions and firing rockets into Israel.Southern District prosecutors said that they filed at least 18 charges in the Beersheba District Court against Abu Snina, 24, who has been active in Hamas since 2007.The charges include the accusation that he and several others tracked the movements of IDF vehicles in order to plant explosive devices and ambush them along several routes the military uses along the Gaza border.While Abu Snina and his conspirators carefully planned the ambushes, including diversions to draw in the IDF patrols to the ambush point, various operational factors allowed the patrols to escape unharmed, prosecutors said.The indictment also details the Hamas operative’s activities following the conclusion of Israel’s 2012 Pillar of Defense military operation in the Gaza Strip.Prosecutors allege that the defendant fired numerous rockets and mortar shells at IDF positions stationed inside Kibbutz Kerem Shalom near the Gaza border that came close to killing a number of soldiers.Abu Snina is also accused of jointly owning and operating a kilometer-long smuggling tunnel used to transfer weapons and military uniforms from Sinai to Rafah in the south of the coastal enclave.Prosecutors say the defendant invested $7,000 in obtaining partial ownership of the tunnel in 2014 and received a monthly payment of $2,000 for its use through 2015.Furthermore, prosecutors say that the terrorist had been in contact with “foreign agents” and conspired to pass along sensitive information “with the intention to harm state security.”Other charges listed in the indictment include providing illegal military training to operatives, conspiring to commit murder, membership in an illegal organization and numerous weapons offenses.