"Smuggling was rife under blockade, and cigarettes were a luxury for the very few. At the peak of the conflict, a single cigarette could sell for $15 (11) and a carton of 50 packets could cost nearly $15,000 (11,060). It is alleged that some Israeli soldiers taking part in the devastation of Gaza, in which more than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed, were also profiting from a campaign that is considered by a UN independent commission and human rights organisations to be a genocide."
"The justice ministry accused Zini and his co-defendants of assisting the enemy in wartime, performing transactions in property for terrorist purposes, obtaining something by fraud under aggravated circumstances, and taking bribes. According to his indictment announced on Thursday, Bezalel Zini, 50, is suspected of smuggling approximately 14 cartons of cigarettes into Gaza on three separate trips into the occupied territory, for which he allegedly received roughly $120,000 (88,700)."
"The brother of Israel's internal security chief has been charged with assisting the enemy in wartime for his alleged role in a smuggling network taking cigarettes and other goods into Gaza during an Israeli blockade of the occupied Palestinian territory. Bezalel Zini was one of more than 10 people charged in relation to the alleged network. His brother, David Zini, is the head of the Shin Bet, the domestic intelligence agency."
Bezalel Zini, 50, has been charged with assisting the enemy in wartime and related offenses for allegedly participating in a smuggling network that moved cigarettes and other goods into Gaza during an Israeli blockade. Authorities allege Zini smuggled about 14 cartons on three trips and received roughly $120,000 (88,700). The justice ministry accuses him and co-defendants of transactions for terrorist purposes, fraud under aggravated circumstances, and taking bribes. Tobacco and cigarettes are cited as central prohibited goods that have generated hundreds of millions of shekels for Hamas since the war began. Some Israeli soldiers are alleged to have profited amid widespread devastation and famine in Gaza.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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