In the latest round of hostilities with Israel, Hamas used weapons, rockets, and components of missiles and rocket launchers that were smuggled into the Gaza Strip from Libya, intelligence officials in the Libyan military told Israel Hayom on Monday.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
The Libyan officials accused Turkey, Qatar, and Iran of exploiting the instability in Libya to use it to smuggle weapons and technology to Hamas in Gaza. According to the Libyan reports, these three countries also fund and support radical Islamist groups in Libya, which handled the contact and deals with Hamas for the weapons and rockets, as well as supplying them with technical information.
Israel Hayom has also learned that Hamas operatives have undergone training in Libya along with militias and foreign fighters dispatched to Libya by Turkey and Iran. This training was funded by money from Qatar.
While these programs were taking place, Qatar, Turkey, and Iran were all supposedly working against the radical Islamist groups in Libya.
According to information obtained by Israel Hayom, Israel discovered that some of Hamas' weapons and weapons manufacturing knowledge had arrived from Libya. In some cases, the materials were smuggled in by sea, and in other cases smuggled over land – from Libya to Egypt, through the Sinai Peninsula into Gaza.
Western intelligence sources said that Israel was coordinating with the US and Europe to prevent Turkish and Qatari support for radical Islamist groups in Libya by setting up a mechanism to oversee the money transferred to Libya through international bands and close American oversight to keep Turkey from intervening in north Africa.
In related news, the Libyan officials told Israel Hayom that Libyan elections, planned for Dec. 24, would likely be postponed due to ongoing instability in the country. The officials said that the unity government under Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh was not able to "balance" internal matters in Libya, despite having been established with the agreement of regional players. The officials said there was a need to strengthen Libyan government institutions and eradicate all the armed militias, terrorist groups, and foreign fighters that had been sent to Libya by Turkey, Qatar, and other regional players.
According to the Libyans who spoke to Israel Hayom, there was agreement in Libya that Gen. Khalifa Haftar, head of the Libyan military and a moderate, would be the best person to oversee the period of transition, whether he were elected or served as head of a governing military council.
Video of #LNA Commander Khalifa Haftar meeting with the Director of #Egypt's Military Intelligence Department Major General Khaled Megawer & his accompanying delegation including a high-rank general from the #Egyptian Air Force. https://t.co/R7YGDYb1Bm pic.twitter.com/vfwkQRfNpP
— Mahmoud Gamal (@mahmouedgamal44) August 19, 2020
The December election would likely be pushed to June 2022, the sources said, although they added that "regional forces have already picked Khalifa Haftar as the next leader of Libya because of his moderation and also the fact that the areas under his control are quiet, and everyone there lives in harmony. He knows how to balance between everyone and how to eradicate extremism, instate law and order, and conduct reasonable trade and economic activity in Libya's difficult situation."
Israel, the US, and Europe see Haftar as having rebuilt Libya's military apparatus, as well as being a good governor of the areas under his control, able to contend with the armed militias and foreign fighters shipped to Libya by Qatar and Turkey.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
