Israeli security forces working hard to keep Israel safe. Illustrative security vehicle. By Joshua Spurlock
Students are the future, but the Hamas terrorist organization believes they can be the present as well—and they are willing to invest a lot of money in raising students for nefarious purposes. Israel had other plans, however, uncovering the Gaza group’s efforts to smuggle roughly 150,000 Euros to boost Hamas activity at the Bir Zeit University in Judea and Samaria.
The Israel Security Agency (ISA) noted in the press release on the bust that exposing the plan “further underscores the high importance Hamas command ascribes to student activities in its affiliated groups in order to recruit and train members in Judea and Samaria.”
And that’s recruiting for terrorism, not the typical student activities. As an example, the ISA highlighted a separate Hamas plot in 2017 to persuade students from Bir Zeit to commit suicide attacks. The ISA said the latest money smuggling scheme “also underscores the great danger involved in such activity and its status as a significant additional arm of Hamas, the goal of which is to harm the State of Israel, despite its taking place at an institution of higher learning.”
A cog in the money smuggling was Omar Kiswani, the chairman of the student council at Bir Zeit on behalf of a student group linked to Hamas, who had contacted Hamas in Gaza and Turkey to obtain funds. Kiswani and a co-conspiring student association member used the money “promote Hamas activities,” said the ISA.
Kiswani was arrested by undercover Israeli Border Police officers at the University.
Turkey is once again involved in a Hamas plot. Recently Israel highlighted the extensive involvement of Turkish persons in supporting Hamas, going so far as to note that even Turkish government officials have at least turned a blind eye to the terrorism-assistance.
The recently uncovered plan also re-emphasizes Hamas efforts to expand into Judea and Samaria—the heart of the State of Israel and also the home of Hamas’ Palestinian political rival, the Palestinian Authority led by the Fatah group.
The ISA said the investigation into the latest money smuggling scheme “points to the deep involvement of Hamas members in Turkey and the Gaza Strip in efforts to advance Hamas activities in Judea and Samaria.”
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, May 3, 2018)