JERUSALEM, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Israel's Defense Ministry said on Tuesday it has thwarted an attempt to smuggle Israeli military uniforms into the Gaza Strip inside a truck.
A spokesperson for the Defense Ministry said in a statement that the driver and his truck were stopped at Kerem Shalom, a goods crossing located on the Gaza Strip-Israel-Egypt border, last week, after "arousing suspicion."
"A subsequent search of the truck uncovered IDF (Israel Defense Forces) uniforms, jackets, hats, bags, and belts," the statement read, adding that the "truck and the items were confiscated and delivered for further investigation by the security forces."
The spokesperson said that earlier this week, inspectors seized also mercury that was part of a consignment of medical equipment due to be sent to Gaza Strip without coordinating it with Israel security officials.
"Mercury is a dual-use material that could be used for terrorist activity," the spokesperson said, adding that Israel confiscated the mercury and delivered it for further investigation by the security forces.
The statement came on the day that Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah survived an assassination attempt after a bomb detonated near his convoy just after he passed the Erez Crossing from Israel go Gaza for opening a new water treatment facility.
The Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli and Egyptian blockade that was imposed after Hamas, a Palestinian Islamism movement, took control over the Palestinian enclave.
