Documenting the BBC’s continuing silence on Gaza smuggling

Yet another episode of smuggling goods into the Gaza Strip for use by Hamas recently came to light.

“The southern district’s district attorney for criminal matters filed an indictment on Sunday with the Be’er Sheva District Court against a Gazan merchant who smuggled diving equipment into the Strip without a permit and sold it to Hamas’s military wing.[…]

The defendant, 40-year-old Abed Skalla, is also charged with, inter alia, four counts of committing security offenses by contacting a foreign agent, providing services to an unauthorized association, and aggravated fraud.”

Apparently this is not an isolated case.Hamas frogmen

“Recent years have seen many attempts to smuggle illicit equipment into the Gaza Strip. Earlier this year Israel intercepted wet suits hidden in a shipment of sportswear coming in to the coastal enclave from the Palestinian Authority through the Kerem Shalom Crossing.

“The shipment was seized and an investigation has been opened to locate those involved,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement at the time.

In 2015 Israel intercepted 40 wet suits concealed inside a shipment of sports clothing at the Nitzana border crossing.”

As regular readers know, since the end of the 2014 conflict between Israel and Hamas, the BBC has shown no interest (see related articles below) in informing its audiences of terror-related smuggling attempts.

The result is that when the BBC tells its audiences that “Israel says” the restrictions on the import of weapons and dual-use goods into the Gaza Strip are for reasons of security, they have insufficient information to be able to put that statement – and the restrictions themselves – into the correct context.  

Related Articles:

BBC policy of ignoring Gaza smuggling continues

Hamas terror cash shoes not news for the BBC

Gaza terror smuggling again not newsworthy for the BBC

Smuggling of rocket fuel to Gaza thwarted: BBC yawns and ignores

Celeb wedding makes front page BBC news but terror doesn’t

Israel seizes chemicals bound for Gaza – BBC yawns

BBC silent on latest Gaza Strip smuggling attempt

 

 

 

 

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