The Israeli Tax Authority said the silver rings bearing IS phrases and images — which were hidden among hundreds of other pieces of jewelry — qualified as "banned propaganda" and were therefore illegal to import.
The package, which arrived a couple of weeks before reports surfaced this week, was believed to have flown in from Turkey. It was supposed to be received by a jeweler in Ramallah in Palestine, but its final destination was to be Gaza.
"The thought that there are people who affiliate themselves with a murderous agenda like ISIS is simply shocking," a source working in the customs department told Ynet News, explaining that anything being sent to the Palestinian Authority goes through a security check.
Ultimately the rings would be "transferred for destruction and information passed on to the relevant security forces."
Customs employees explained to Ynet that the package first went through an x-ray machine and raised no alarms, but that later an employee who read Arabic noticed the slogans and reported his concerns.
"Although the importer declared the items as rings, it's considered to be incitement," said a customs employee. "We're talking about a Palestinian civilian and we have no right to open an investigation so we sent him a letter that the items would be destroyed and he has 30 days to appeal. Of course we also informed security forces and the Shin Bet immediately."
One employee said that such a large shipment is reason for concern.
"A large number of rings tells us that there are buyers for this," a tax official told the Times of Israel. "It is frightening and terrifying to know that in the territories of the Palestinian Authority, there are supporters of this murderous organisation and, who knows, maybe with our help they will discover a cell or ideological organising by IS."
