The head of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) military intelligence warned the country’s Knesset that Hamas continues to arm itself with Qassam rockets and other weapons capabilities that may threaten Israel’s home front.


Brigadier General Yossi Baidatz reportedly told Israeli legislators that “Hamas is also improving its defense capabilities in case of an Israeli operation (in Gaza)…”The Islamist group is turning Gaza into a bona fide state. Hamas is the clear and decisive ruler there.”

Baidatz also reported that Egypt is still unable to stop weapons and goods smuggling through Gaza’s illegal underground tunnels.

In a classic example of quid pro quo, Hamas reportedly snags at least $20 million each month from smuggling operations running into and out of the Gaza Strip.


According to a report in Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff, Hamas is even said to be trying to “place the smuggling operation between Egyptian and Palestinian Rafah on an official footing” by having special oil pipeline tunnels set up to get fuel in from Egypt.

Arab sources say that Hamas’ civil defense chief Yousef al-Zahar and Rafah Mayor Issa al-Nashar were at a “conference organized by a Gazan human rights group under the banner: ‘The tunnels – advantages and disadvantages.’”

al-Zahar and al-Nashar were said to have “praised the tunnels as important conduits for weapons for the “resistance,” [i.e., Hamas terrorist operations and those by other Palestinian terrorist groups inside Gaza] but also pointed to the dangers inherent in their operation.”

A new report says that Hamas rejected a joint Egyptian and Jordanian proposal to send Arab troops to Gaza to train Palestinian police forces.


Not surprisingly, Hamas immediately rejected the proposal, according to the Jerusalem Post’s Khaled Abu Toameh.

Why? It seems that such a plan would have involved some oversight into of weapons in Gaza, as well as efforts to prevent Hamas’ ongoing smuggling of arms, anti-tank weapons, anti-aircraft weapons, missiles, and other contraband from Egypt into Gaza.

Here is a diagram showing how weapons smuggling operations operate from Rafah inside Egypt to Gaza. The diagram depicts how Israel had maintained a security corridor between Egypt and Gaza before ceding control of the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority several years ago.

Diagram: Israel News Agency

There’s a terrific article in this morning’s Washington Post about how Gaza’s smugglers make a fortune by smuggling weapons, blue jeans, and generic Viagra from Egypt into Gaza.


The report makes clear that Hamas’ control over Gaza extends to the smuggling networks as well. The terrorist group exerts Tony Soprano-like control over everything coming in and out of Gaza’s tunnels:

“For anything that comes through the tunnel, either they take taxes or they confiscate half the goods,” said Mahmoud Qeshtah, a 21-year-old candy salesman. “Day after day we are dying, and Hamas is responsible.”

But despite media hype that Gaza’s tunnels are used to sneak in food, clothes and medicine, the real priority for Hamas and the smugglers they rely upon are weapons they use to mount terror attacks against Israeli civilians, and the Israeli Defense Forces.

Smuggler’s can net $250 for each Kalashnikov and $1 for every bullet they bring into Gaza. They are likely to get tens of thousands more for bringing anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons into Gaza.

Iran continues to play a critical role in providing sophisticated weapons, and technical expertise to Hamas terrorists who train there.