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Smuggled ISIS Rings Seized at Tel Aviv Airport: Israel Officials

More than 100 rings bearing an ISIS monogram and bound for Gaza have been seized at a Tel Aviv airport, Israeli tax officials said.
Israeli Tax Authority

TEL AVIV — More than 100 rings with ISIS-related insignia and bound for Gaza have been seized at Tel Aviv's main airport, Israeli tax officials said on Tuesday.

The “delivery of 120 rings bearing an insignia associated with Daesh terrorist organization” was intercepted at Ben Gurion Airport, Israel’s main international hub, according to a statement released by the Israel Tax Authority. Daesh is the the group's acronym in Arabic.

Israeli officials told NBC News that the seizure had taken place around two-and-a-half weeks ago but they would not give a specific date. News of the rings only came out on Tuesday.

The jewelry, which had been imported from Turkey, was classified as "prohibited propaganda" and destroyed, the authority added.

The rings were due to be received by a jeweler in Ramallah, a Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank, but the final destination was Gaza, according to the statement. While Gaza is ruled by hard line Islamist group Hamas, there has not been evidence of widespread support for the extremist group that has conquered huge swathes of Syria and Iraq.

The jewelry was destroyed, Israeli officials said, adding that the information about the smuggling had been “transferred to the relevant security forces.”

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