State indicts alleged Gazan arms tunnel smuggler of RPGs, TNT, guns
The charges in the indictment against Rami al-Najar run from 2004-2012 and include his performing services at different times for Hamas.
By YONAH JEREMY BOBUpdated: JUNE 30, 2015 03:24Ammunition seized from Hamas operatives by the IDF(photo credit: IDF)
The Southern District Attorney’s Office has filed an indictment with the Beersheba District Court against Rami al-Najar for smuggling thousands of guns, explosives and rocket- propelled grenades through tunnels from Egypt to Gaza on behalf of various terrorist groups.Al-Najar, 27, is also accused of smuggling hundreds of millions of dollars to Hamas Gaza leader Ismail Haniyeh.The charges in Sunday’s indictment against al-Najar run from 2004 to 2012 and include his performing services at different times for Hamas, the combat wing of Fatah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.In 2006, al-Najar conspired for eight months with his father, Ibrahim al-Najar, and many others to dig a tunnel between Gaza and Egypt from under the house of the Fahfuka family in Rafah, said the indictment.From 2006 to 2009, noted the indictment, al-Najar and the rest of the group smuggled weapons from Egypt to Gaza on behalf of Hamas and Fatah’s military wing, including 105 Kalashnikov rifles and around 105,000 rounds of ammunition.During the same period, al-Najar and the group allegedly smuggled for Hamas three rounds of TNT explosives weighing 18-20 tons, another four rounds of explosives weighing 5-10 tons and three rounds each of 60-150 RPGs.In 2008, al-Najar and the group smuggled millions of dollars in cash in suitcases to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, knowing that the funds were designated for terrorism-related purposes, stated the indictment.According to the indictment, by 2010, the first tunnel had been destroyed, but al-Najar and the group dug a new tunnel for smuggling.Between 2010 and 2012, noted the indictment, al-Najar and the group smuggled around 280 Kalashnikov rifles for Hamas, including one incident where al-Najar personally sold an individual gun for 800 Jordanian dinars to a Hamas fighter.In 2011, al-Najar also joined up with the PFLP as a fighter and went through several armed training sessions, said the indictment.Al-Najar was arrested by the navy on a fishing boat off the Gazan coast on June 1, and the above indictment included 10 separate counts of involvement in terrorism.
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