Two days ago I posted that an Israeli named Micha Peretz of the Negev moshav, Mivtahim, had been arrested by the Shabak for unspecified security offenses. At the time, I speculated that the nearest prison where Shabak houses its security detainees is Shikma, near Ashkelon. With the assistance of the prisoner rights NGO, HaMoked, I’ve confirmed that he is at Shikma. But the Israeli prison authority refused to reveal the name of his counsel. I have been trying various phone numbers under which Peretz is listed and for the moshav communal leadership, but no one answers.
When you have little confirmed information, it leaves room to infer from related events what might be the charges against Peretz. The suspect lives virtually on the border with Gaza. He specializes in fabricating agricultural and related infrastructure like tunnels, bridges, greenhouses, etc.
According to this Israeli report, Naftali Bennett revealed in a supposedly “closed” Q&A at a prayer service that Israel has detected that Hamas is building new tunnels into Israel. He told his listeners another war in Gaza was a matter of a year or two, possibly even less. Israel must strike even harder next time than it did during Operation Protective Edge, he said.
Given these two pieces of information, it seems possible that Peretz either knowingly or unknowingly may’ve participated in a project that was used, or could’ve been used by Hamas to tunnel into Israel.
