Israel Imposes Sanctions on 20 Companies & Individuals Who are Financing the Hamas Terror Network
Edited by: TJVNews.com
Israel on Wednesday imposed sanctions on 20 companies and individuals operating across the Middle East that are involved in financing the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, as was reported by the AP.
The sanctions are directed against what the Defense Ministry described as an international network operating “under the guise of legitimate companies” in Sudan, Turkey, Algeria and the United Arab Emirates, according to the report.
The U.S. announced sanctions against many of the same entities in May. The AP reported that Israel and the U.S. say they are part of a Hamas-run financial network with hundreds of millions of dollars in assets.
The Islamic terror group has carried out scores of deadly attacks against Israelis over the years, and it seized control of Gaza from the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority 15 years ago. Israel and Western countries consider Hamas a terrorist organization, the AP reported.
“We will continue to thwart Hamas’ attempts to funnel funds intended for the terrorist organization’s force buildup,” Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz said in a statement, the report indicated.
Moreover, Gantz’s statement said that Hamas manages investments worth hundreds of millions of dollars through a network of shell companies “operating under the guise of legitimate companies and concealing Hamas’s control over their holdings,” as was reported by The Times of Israel. These are primarily real estate and infrastructure projects that operate in these countries. The statement added that local authorities and financial institutions were unaware Hamas was behind the companies.
The Israeli Defense Ministry, in conjunction with the Headquarters for Economic Warfare Against Terrorism and the IDF Intelligence Corps, estimated the scope of Hamas’s holdings at hundreds of millions of dollars, according to the TOI report.
Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since the Hamas takeover, which Israel says is needed to prevent Hamas from re-arming. But the group has continued to improve its military capabilities — including the reach of its rockets — through four devastating wars with Israel, according to the AP report.
Even as it tries to sanction Hamas, Israel has also taken steps to ease the Gaza blockade over the past year in return for calm, the AP reported. Those understandings with Hamas appear to have figured into the group’s decision to stay out of three days of heavy fighting between Israel and the smaller Islamic Jihad militant group earlier this month.
Among the 20 companies named in the statement include Al-Rowad for Real Estate Development Company Ltd. in Sudan; Anda, a Saudi real estate and construction company; and Algeria-based Sidar Company and Agrogate Holding, TOI reported.
The Defense Ministry identified Osama Ali, a member of the Hamas ruling council, saying he has headed the investment system since 2017, and has been designated a terrorist along with other Hamas officials involved in the laundering scheme, as was reported by TOI. The Defense Ministry said that Ali maintains direct contact with Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh as well as other officials.
“This is a significant operational and international announcement,” Gantz said, according to the TOI report.
He added: “Our policy is clear: We will continue to support the flow of money that goes to civilians (in Gaza) — and we will continue to thwart any attempt to send money that goes to strengthen the military capabilities of the Hamas terrorist organization.”
The TOI report indicated that the Treasury Department named and sanctioned individuals it said were involved in Hamas investments, including the portfolio’s previous manager Ahmed Sharif Abdallah Odeh, under a 2001 executive order that allows for the financial holdings of designated individuals or groups to be blocked in order to stem terror funding.
