Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

21 arrested in multimillion-shekel fraud probe involving IDF operations in Gaza

Banks, Palestinian Economy
A Palestinian man withdraws Israeli shekels from a Bank of Palestine ATM in Rafah, the southernmost city in the Gaza Strip, July 6, 2009. Photo by Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90.

The Israel Police arrested 21 suspects on Tuesday, including career military personnel and civilian contractors, in a multimillion-shekel fraud and bribery investigation involving heavy engineering equipment used by the Israel Defense Forces in the Gaza Strip.

The arrests followed a months-long undercover investigation conducted by the Israel Police’s Lahav 433 anti-corruption unit, the Military Police and the Israel Tax Authority.

The suspects are accused of offenses including fraud, bribery, money laundering and breach of trust in connection with civilian companies contracted to support IDF operations in the Strip.

See more from JNS Staff
“You’re the man I want by my side, Bibi,” the U.S. president told the Israeli premier.
A central message of the prime minister’s campaign is that the “change camp” can’t win without the support of Arab parties.
The U.S. president’s backing may influence more voters than conventional analysis assumes.
“The State of Israel, for us as Orthodox Jews, is the beginning of the flowering of the redemption of our people,” Rabbi Elie Buechler told JNS. “If that’s not their perspective, that’s OK too.”