An IDF soldier discovers a tunnel near the border with Egypt. Israeli authorities arrested three Israelis this week for allegedly secretly selling construction materials to Hamas-controlled Gaza, which Israeli authorities believe are being used to reconstruct a network of terror tunnels from Gaza into Israel. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – A gag order was lifted Monday on the recent arrest of three Israeli citizens suspected of helping Hamas rehabilitate its network of terror tunnels leading from the Gaza Strip into Israel. The tunnels had been destroyed over the summer during Israel’s confrontation with Hamas in Operation Protective Edge.

The suspects, two businessmen and a resident of a town near the Gaza border, allegedly transferred materials into Gaza in exchange for money. Indictments were filed against the three on Monday and the prosecution requested they be remanded until the conclusion of the legal proceedings against them. Five Palestinian suspects have already been indicted in the case.

Authorities suspect the three provided contacts in Gaza with metals, pipes, and other construction materials that Israel does not allow into the Gaza Strip for fear that they will be used for terrorist purposes. Investigators believe the materials were intended for use in rebuilding the tunnels, used for smuggling and for surprise terrorist attacks. The two businessmen are believed to have concealed the transactions using various shell companies.

Israeli police said the case was “part of a wider, alarming phenomenon of Israeli business owners, who, led by greed, compromise Israel’s security by handing raw materials directly to Hamas.”