Nephew of PA vice president arrested over Gaza smuggling with Israeli soldiers
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Nadav Rapaport
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Mon, 07/06/2026 - 15:33
Hussein al-Sheikh's nephew was arrested by the Shin Bet on suspicion of smuggling contraband into Gaza, according to i24 News
Palestinian vice president Hussein al-Sheikh attends a meeting with ambassadors in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, on 10 February 2026 (AFP)
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The nephew of Hussein al-Sheikh, vice president of the Palestinian Authority (PA), was arrested by Israeli security forces on suspicion of smuggling contraband goods into Gaza as part of an operation that also involved Israeli soldiers, Israel's i24News reported on Monday.
According to the report, Jamal al-Sheikh, whose uncle was recently appointed vice president of the PA, was arrested in February by the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency, for smuggling what Israel deems to be illegal goods into the Palestinian enclave.
Jamal, a resident of the occupied West Bank, reportedly started to smuggle goods into Gaza in February 2025 with the help of Israeli soldiers, an Egyptian citizen and merchants from Gaza.
Between February 2025 and February 2026, Jamal managed to smuggle five shipments into the enclave, with an unsuccessful shipment in February leading to his arrest.
While in the first shipment Jamal al-Sheikh reportedly delivered 10 pallets of chocolate products, other shipments included goods that Israel deems to be “dual-use”, and therefore blanket bans them from entering the enclave.
According to the report, the relative of the senior PA figure managed to smuggle solar panels, car batteries, tobacco, electric bicycles, mobile phones and other valuable goods into Gaza, where they can be sold at extremely high prices.
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In the last shipment, which was intercepted by the Shin Bet, Jamal al-Sheikh and his partners in Gaza and in the Israeli military tried to smuggle over 500 pallets of cigarettes and 500 iPhone devices in a single truckload worth approximately 200 million shekels ($66m).
The report said that Jamal was afraid of getting caught before the last shipment, but that a Gaza merchant who worked with him assured him the Israeli military would help them, with the merchant saying that his son was an Israeli soldier who could help them smuggle the goods.
The identity of the soldiers involved in the smuggling remains under a gag order, i24 said.
Hussein al-Sheikh, uncle of the now detained Palestinian, has been a significant figure in the PA for two decades, with recent reports indicating that he might succeed the 90-year-old Mahmoud Abbas as leader.
For years Hussein headed the Civil Affairs Commission, a PA body responsible for coordinating civil affairs with the Israeli army unit, Cogat, which coordinates Israeli government civil policies in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Israelis profiting from starving Gazans
The recent i24News report comes amid similar revelations in recent months about a host of other smuggling operations into the Gaza Strip, with Israeli security personnel heavily involved and profiting greatly.
In February, Bezalel Zini, brother of Shin Bet chief David Zini, was indicted on charges of assisting the enemy after he allegedly helped smuggle cigarettes and other contraband goods worth millions of shekels into Gaza.
Last month, it emerged that not just security personnel are profiting from selling vastly overpriced goods in Gaza, but also Israeli supermarket chains, which are selling food and other goods in the devastated enclave.
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Israeli news site Ynet reported in June that one supermarket chain boosted its sales in the first quarter of 2026 by more than 25 percent by selling goods to Gaza.
Ynet said the chain's profits rose by 152 million shekels ($50m), of which 99 million ($33m) came from sales to the Palestinian territory, with Israel approving only a handful of Israeli companies to sell goods to the enclave exclusively.
Israel's control of what goes in and out of Gaza – including humanitarian aid and food - is an instrumental part of its siege campaign, with humanitarian organisations accusing Israel of using starvation as a weapon.
Since the so-called ceasefire was signed in October, larger quantities of aid have entered Gaza, but Israel is still imposing restrictions on the entry of much-needed goods.
According to the UN agency, OCHA, last month UN agencies across the Gaza Strip offloaded 41,800 pallets of aid, while in January it said it had offloaded 58,600 pallets.
Most of Gaza's population consumes only two meals each day, OCHA reported, with 70 percent of all infants and young children suffering from moderate to severe food poverty.
The UN agency said that some 246,000 children under the age of 17 are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition in 2026, with 31,000 of them projected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition.
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