Israeli security personnel are reportedly leaking information to extremists and illegal settlers about the location of aid trucks heading to Gaza, enabling them to block and vandalize the convoys, according to an exclusive report by The Guardian on Tuesday.
In recent weeks, illegal Israeli settlers have attacked and vandalized dozens of aid trucks traveling from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip. Israel has imposed a severe blockade on Gaza since October, following a war against Hamas triggered by a cross-border incursion that resulted in 1,200 deaths, leaving the population on the brink of starvation.
The military operations over the past seven months have resulted in over 35,000 Palestinian deaths, forced internal displacement, famine conditions, and extensive destruction of the enclave. The ongoing conflict has also led to Israel facing allegations of genocide at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
The Guardian quoted a member of a main settler group involved in the attacks, stating they receive information about the aid trucks’ locations from Israeli police and military members. This claim of collusion is supported by messages from internal internet chat groups reviewed by the newspaper, as well as accounts from witnesses and activists.
Settlers argue that the aid is diverted to Hamas, a claim rejected by relief agencies. “Yes, some of our intel comes from individual members of Israeli forces,” Rachel Touitou, a spokesperson for the Tzav 9 group involved in the attacks, told The Guardian. She admitted the group blocks aid trucks to prevent supplies from reaching Hamas but distanced the group from recent arson attacks on the convoys.
Palestinian truck drivers transporting the aid described the attacks as “barbaric scenes.” Yazid al-Zoubi, 26, a Palestinian lorry driver attacked at the Tarqumiya checkpoint, stated, “There is full cooperation between the settlers and the army. We are shocked and surprised that the army did not provide us with any kind of protection, even though they were present and watching what was happening. The army was at the service of the settlers.”
An Israeli rights activist, Sapir Sluzker Amran, was beaten by settlers while attempting to document the attacks on the aid trucks. She noted that the settlers involved in the attacks were armed with guns and knives.–News Desk