A boat off the Gaza port. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – Israel’s Shin Bet security agency announced the arrest of a Palestinian man who had been attempting to smuggle weapons to the Gaza-based Hamas terror group by posing as a fisherman.

Salim Hassan Na’aman, 39, from the Shati Refugee Camp in Gaza, was arrested in a joint operation by the Shin Bet and the Israel Police after he violated the maritime zone permitted for Palestinian fishing boats. According to the Shin Bet, Na’aman was allegedly attempting to smuggle ammunition and liquid fiberglass that is used to build rockets.

“It emerged that for a lengthy period, he was involved in sea-based smuggling of weapons and other items for Hamas and other terrorist elements in the Gaza Strip,” the Shin Bet said in a statement.

The Shin Bet added that the smuggler was attempting to take advantage of a recent policy change by Israel regarding the Gaza blockade. In April, Israel extended the permitted distance of Gazan fishermen from six to nine nautical miles.