An exposé published by Hakol Hayehudi revealed that officers and soldiers from the Bedouin battalion, which is stationed in southern Israel, are allegedly involved in smuggling cigarettes into the Gaza Strip, in violation of the law and while endangering Israeli security.
According to the report, there were several different cases of cigarettes worth a total of hundreds of thousands of shekels being smuggled into the Gaza Strip using a military vehicle and humanitarian aid trucks which enter the enclave through the Kerem Shalom Crossing.
In one major case, an indictment was filed against a company commander, who resides in Abu Qrenat, and an additional soldier from his command team, who resides in Abu Ruqiq. The indictment states that the two coordinated the smuggling with residents of Gaza, loaded 4,496 packages of cigarettes onto a aid trucks, and in return, received at least 269 thousand shekels in cash.
In another instance which the report recounts, a military vehicle and a truck entered a Gazan hanger in the area between al-Mawasi and Khan Yunis. After a short time, the vehicles left the hanger and split up.
However, after an aircraft noticed the suspicious incident and reported it, the truck was inspected, and 7,000 packages of cigarettes were found. The driver admitted that he received the goods from an officer in the Bedouin Reconnaissance Battalion, but was released at the scene when the Military Police did not arrive to arrest him.
The IDF confirmed only to incidents. Regarding the first incident, the military stated that severe indictments were submitted, and in the second, the soldier was tried by his unit’s command.
