(Times of Israel) Avi Issacharoff - Despite intensified Egyptian efforts to eliminate the smuggling of weapon components into Gaza, Hamas is still producing rockets, a senior Israeli official said. The source said Egyptian counter-terrorism activities have drastically improved recently, including in the intelligence realm. The Egyptians are preventing the smuggling of dual-use materials that can be used in building rockets, such as metal pipes and fertilizer, while tightening control on Egypt's borders with Sudan and Libya. Hamas is also working hard to rehabilitate its tunnel network. In the past, Hamas has built tunnels without cement, as it did in the kidnapping of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit in 2006. The Egyptians and Israelis have intelligence that Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, the organization responsible for a number of serious attacks against the Egyptian Army, is being helped by known Hamas operatives. In addition, there is a permanent presence of Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis terrorists within Gaza who are providing Sinai jihadists with weapons and training.
2014-10-31 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive