Israel indicts Bedouin who joined Hamas, trained with Nukhba forces

A Bedouin Israeli crossed into Gaza and joined Hamas in 2016, providing the terrorist organization with information about the locations of IDF bases and training with the Nukhba forces which were central in the October 7 massacre, according to an indictment issued by the State Prosecutor on Friday.

The Bedouin young man, Juma'a Abu Ganima, a resident of El-A'sam, located southeast of Beersheba, was arrested in December while he was trying to infiltrate back from Gaza into Israel.

Abu Ganima crossed into Gaza in 2016, meeting with Hamas terrorists and telling them he wanted to join the terrorist movement's Al-Qassam Brigades and become a "martyr."

The Hamas terrorists questioned Abu Ganima and he provided the terrorists with information, including the locations of IDF bases in southern Israel.

After staying in the homes of Hamas terrorists for three months, Abu Ganima underwent military training with the terrorist organization and later went through advanced training with the Nukhba forces. As part of the training with the Nukhba forces, Abu Ganima went through exercises drilling an attack on a city and the occupation of a military post.

Bedouin citizen offered to join IDF and provide intelligence to Hamas

The Bedouin citizen conducted observations of Israeli territory while in Gaza and met with Hamas terrorists in order to help them with their conflict against Israel. Abu Ganima even offered to conduct shooting attacks in Israel and to return to Israel and draft into the IDF to provide Hamas with information from the inside. He also agreed to a proposal to join a criminal organization in Israel to promote terrorist activity.

In 2021, Abu Ganima was jailed by Hamas for two years after not complying with restrictions imposed on him. After the IDF bombed a site near the prison where he was being held in early December, he was released and, three days later, he attempted to infiltrate back into Israel.

Abu Ganima is charged with conspiring to aid the enemy in war against Israel, aiding in the enemy during a war, providing information to the enemy with the intention to harm national security, joining a terrorist organization, training for the purposes of conducting terrorism, using a weapon for terrorist purposes, and exiting the country illegally.

Twenty-one Bedouin Israelis were murdered by Hamas on October 7 and seven others were kidnapped. Two of those kidnapped were released in the ceasefire deal in December while five others remain in Hamas captivity. Additionally, Hisham Al-Sayed, a Bedouin Israeli, has been in Hamas captivity since 2015.