By: Aryeh Savir
Israel’s security forces have exposed and arrested a Muslim woman with Israeli citizenship who operated on behalf of the Hamas terrorist group in the Gaza Strip and collected intelligence and funds on their behalf, the Shin Bet (Israel’s Security Agency) revealed Sunday.
The police in February arrested Aya Khatib, 31 and a mother of two from the village of Ar’ara in Wadi Ara in northern Israel.
A Shin Bet investigation revealed that she was recruited by Muhammad Pelpel, 29, of Beit Lahiya, and Mohamed Halawa, 32 of Jabalya, both members of Hamas’ Izz al-Din al-Qassam military wing.
The two recruited Khatib, who engaged in humanitarian activities for the needy in the Gaza Strip, in favor of financing terrorist activities and infrastructure, carrying out missions for Hamas and subsequently gathering security intelligence to promote terrorist activities against Israeli targets.
Khatib transferred hundreds of thousands of shekels to Hamas while scamming aid organizations and innocent civilians who donated funds with the aim of reaching patients and the needy.
They also utilized the plight of Gazans patients who were granted permits for humanitarian medical treatment in Israel and businessmen from the Gaza Strip who were granted permission to enter Israel.
Part of the money that Khatib transferred to Hamas was for clear terrorist purposes, including helping to build terror tunnels, a weapons factory and buildings for Hamas’ ongoing operations.
In addition, Khatib handed Hamas equipment for the use of its operatives and looked at options for transferring additional sensitive equipment that could be used to build tunnels and to observe IDF forces.
The Shin Bet’s findings indicate that Khatib also provided information for Hamas, including information on the movement of military forces during one of the recent rounds of escalation.
“Hamas in the Gaza Strip continues to cynically exploit the humanitarian medium for promoting inter-regional terrorist activities,” the Shin Bet stated.
The security agency tied Khatib’s arrest to those of Israeli citizens Rami Amudi and Rajab Dacha at the beginning of January. Both took advantage of their Israeli citizenship to operate against it.
Khatib was indicted in the Acre Magistrates’ Court on Sunday.
The Shin Bet “will continue to thwart any hostile espionage activities by the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip and views with severity the exploitation of Israeli citizens for assistance in terrorist activities,” it stated.
Israeli-Arab Members of Knesset (MK) have rallied on her behalf in recent weeks and have demanded her release, claiming Israel had falsely arrested a humanitarian operative.
TPS has learned that she is a well-known activist in the Islamic Movement – the Northern Branch. Her activities to collect funds were encompassing, inside Israel, the Palestinian Authority and abroad.
(TPS)
