Bezalel Zini, brother of Israel’s security chief, arrested in bust of alleged Gaza smuggling ring
Palestinians gather around street vendors to buy food and basic supplies amid the ruins of destroyed buildings in Gaza City in October.
Tel Aviv (CNN) — The brother of Israel’s security chief was arrested along with 14 others in a major police bust of an alleged smuggling ring accused of shipping crates of illegal goods into the Gaza Strip.
Bezalel Zini, a brother of Shin Bet chief David Zini, was arrested as part of what Israeli authorities say was a “systematic and sophisticated” operation to smuggle illegal cigarettes into Gaza for profit.
According to an indictment, Bezalel Zini allegedly smuggled 14 crates of cigarettes into Gaza, for which he received about 365,000 shekels (approximately $117,000). Others arrested as part of the bust allegedly smuggled cellphones, car parts and other goods, prosecutors said in the indictment.
The indictment says the smuggling ring included some Israeli reserve soldiers, as well as Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. The alleged smuggling chain started with suppliers in the West Bank, passed through Israeli warehouses and ultimately reached Gaza through Israeli military convoys, sometimes during operational activity.
At other times, prosecutors said, the smuggling was done under the guise that it was for an operational need. The ring allegedly exploited a large-scale humanitarian effort used to ship aid and commercial goods into the shattered enclave.
Such activity, the Shin Bet internal security service warned, “poses a significant threat to the security of the State of Israel.”
It argued that the smugglers’ actions directly strengthened Hamas and other armed groups in the enclave.
“They assist Hamas’s survivability and governance through profits from goods entering the Strip, contribute to Hamas’s empowerment and military build-up, and help refurbish its military production capabilities,” the statement said.
“They also create potential routes for smuggling weapons, technology, and equipment, as well as channels that could be used for offensive military activity against Israel and its forces.”
The defendants and their partners “knew that the smuggled goods might reach terrorist elements, including Hamas or those acting on its behalf, and be used to help strengthen their power and to promote and finance their activity,” according to the indictment.
The State Attorney’s Office alleged that the defendants “committed their acts for financial gain, knowing that by doing so they were bypassing the restrictions imposed by the State of Israel on the entry of goods into Gaza as part of the war effort, despite the clear security harm inherent in this activity.”
Bezalel Zini’s attorney, Assaf Klein, said his client is innocent of the charges.
“He is a man of great merit, whose concern for the good of the state has always been and will remain foremost in his industry,” Klein said in a statement last week.
He faces charges including bribery and assisting the enemy during wartime.
Authorities have stressed that no evidence connects the allegations against Bezalel Zini to his brother, David Zini, who directs the Shin Bet and is not accused of wrongdoing in the case.
A pick of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, David Zini was one of the most controversial appointments in the agency’s history because of his lack of experience in intelligence and what former Shin Bet officials criticized as his “extreme worldview.” Zini had no experience within the Shin Bet, having been pulled directly from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
The investigation into Bezalel Zini was handled by Israeli police instead of the Shin Bet because of the relationship between the two men. All of the cases against the other defendants involved a joint investigation by the Shin Bet and Israel Police.
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