An Israeli citizen is alleged to have acted as a Hamas agent inside Israel and worked for the terrorist organization's military wing inside the Gaza Strip, the Shin Bet security agency and the Israel Police revealed, Friday.
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The citizen, who was arrested on Feb. 3, is 43-year-old Muhammad Abu Adra. Ada's father is a Bedouin and his mother is from the Gaza Strip. Abu Adra is married to a Gaza resident and splits his time between Rafah and the central Israeli city of Rehovot, frequently using the Erez Border Crossing.
A Shin Bet investigation revealed Hamas recruited Abu Adra while he was in Gaza around a year and a half ago. From that time, he remained in covert operational contact with Hamas members, collecting and providing them with information on the location of Iron Dome batteries.
Hamas took advantage of Abu Adra's ability to move between Israel and Gaza due to his family situation and held in-person meetings with Abu Adra when he was inside the coastal enclave. According to the Shin Bet, Abu Adra provided Hamas unique and high-quality access to Israeli territory and carried out missions for the group.
According to a Shin Bet official, "This is another example of Hamas' use of the Erez Border Crossing for the benefit of its inter-regional activity, as part of its systematic and wide-ranging activity that is moving toward Judea and Samaria and demonstrated the strategy Hamas leadership continues to pursue to undermine stability in the region, despite and in parallel with the ongoing efforts toward an agreement."
The Southern District Attorney's Office filed an indictment against Abu Adra for the serious security offense of membership in a terrorist organization, intention to commit treason, and relaying information to the enemy, among other charges, at the Beersheva District Court, Friday.
In a statement, the Shin Bet said, "We view the exploitation of Israeli citizenship for the aiding of terrorist activities with severity. We will continue to act to thwart all terrorist activity by Hamas and terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip and bring those assisting terrorists to justice."
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