De zoveelste poging van Hamas en Palestinian Islamic Jihad om wapens aan te schaffen via online bestellingen bij o.a. de Chinese AliExpress werd gedwarsboomd dankzij de veiligheidscontroles aan de Erez-grensovergang. – Judith Abramson voor JerusalemOnline
“Huge weapons smuggling attempt thwarted at Erez Border Crossing”
Hundreds of packages concealed as innocent items were caught at the Erez Border Crossing. In reality, the packages contained weapons that were allegedly meant to be sent to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists in Gaza. The weapons were purchased via several websites, including AliExpress.
Members of the Israeli Defense Ministry’s District Coordination Liason for Gaza and the Crossing Points Authority confiscated hundreds of packages at the Erez Border Crossing containing prohibited items allegedly meant to be sent to terrorists in the Gaza Strip. The items were purchased through several websites, including China’s AliExpress, by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists.
All packages entering Gaza through Israel undergo a security check and over the past few weeks, Israeli security officials at the border crossing have noticed that various terrorist factors in Gaza are taking advantage of these shopping websites in order to smuggle in contraband. The Defense Ministry has determined these weapons to have multiple purposes or in other words, they can be utilized for civilian purposes, but also for terrorist activities.
It is suspected that some of the items can even be used in order to assemble makeshift weapons. Therefore, after checking the packages, the items were confiscated by District Coordination Liason officers. The purchasers allegedly tried to disguise the products as innocent packages in order to circumvent security.
Among the items confiscated just in October are drones, telescopes, binoculars, metal detectors, walkie talkies, knives and more. Recently, small motors, power converters, optical cable cutting devices, small electric drill, professional head lamps and more were confiscated.