US UNVEILS FURTHER SANCTIONS TO CUT OFF HAMAS MONEY FLOW
▶ Measures take aim at currency exchange network in besieged enclave
The US on Monday imposed a fifth round of sanctions against Hamas since October 7 as western countries try to counter the militant group’s financial networks around the world.
The sanctions, imposed jointly with Australia and Britain, are aimed at a network of Hamaslinked financial exchanges in Gaza, believed to have enabled the transfer of cryptocurrency from Iran to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Also placed under sanctions was the Iraqi airline Fly Baghdad, which Washington accused of supporting Iranian proxies in the region.
The company yesterday launched an appeal against the sanctions, its security manager, Nameer Al Qaisi, told The National.
“We started the procedures for the appeal and all of this is with the full knowledge and support of the Iraqi government,” he said.
While western nations have often placed sanctions on Hamas and other adversaries, their effectiveness has been debated.
In the short term, the sanctions may have a limited effect on the group as it seeks to capitalise on donations from abroad, said Jessica Davis, president of the Canada-based Insight Threat Intelligence think tank.
Hamas’s traditional major income sources, such as taxes and donations from Qatar, are expected to diminish
amid the destruction in Gaza. But Hamas has deep financial roots, with a wide range of revenue streams that generate an estimated $1 billion a year.
“Sanctions will not immediately hurt Hamas’s networks because most of these businesses operate in areas that don’t care about EU or US sanctions,” said Ms Davis. “It can make it harder for them to operate though, so that’s a good thing.”
Matthew Levitt, a former counter-terrorism official with the FBI and US Treasury, said: “We are not surprised to see a spike in legitimate and illegitimate fundraising in the weeks since October 7.
“Whether they’re Arab or Muslim or not, those who see the suffering in Gaza are going to want to do something and typically what that involves is to donate some money.
“You go to a website, you see a picture of a suffering child, you give money. And some of
those websites are legitimate, others are not. They are Hamas in some cases.”
Both Washington and Brussels have designated Hamas as a terrorist organisation, and have implemented sanctions against the group since it took power in Gaza in 2007.
Unlike EU sanctions, which apply only inside the bloc, US restrictions apply overseas, where banks need correspondent American institutions to access US dollars.
Omri Brinner, a Middle East analyst with the International Team for the Study of Security Verona think tank, voiced doubt the sanctions would be effective, as the US has a history of not enforcing such measures.
“What has happened in the past, mainly with Hezbollah financing operations, is that the US chose to ignore clear violations and actions by sanctioned individuals because they were negotiating terms with Iran,” he said. “So when they negotiate terms with Hamas or Qatar, they’ll probably overlook Hamas terror financing.”
Mr Brinner predicted that Hamas will expand its chapters around the world, particularly in East Africa, the Sahel, Turkey and Indonesia, and that their money laundering operations will probably become more efficient.
This is “something that Iran and Hezbollah are already doing”, he told The National.
Tackling increased fundraising activity comes with its own challenges. Since October 7, Israel has cracked down on cryptocurrency networks used by Hamas to channel funds.
Mr Levitt said Hamas has mostly used cryptocurrency, not to generate money, but to move funds received through crowdfunding campaigns.
“The US Department of Justice has seized Hamas wallets,” he said. “It’s definitely in the range of hundreds of thousands of dollars. So it’s nothing to sneeze at.”
However, said Lucas Webber, co-founder of the specialist website Militant Wire, fighting such networks requires resources for monitoring and gathering evidence, and most governments are still developing regulatory frameworks. “It’s difficult to implement or pursue,” he said.
Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the Counter Extremism Project, said Hamas’s wealth and financial foundation might still be largely intact. As a result, the militant group could recover despite the devastation in the enclave.
He stressed the need for a global strategy to limit Hamas’s finances, including stronger US and EU sanctions, the closure of regulatory loopholes in countries that had not previously listed the group, such as Switzerland, and global recognition of Hamas as a terrorist organisation.
The US, EU and other western countries have voiced strong opposition to Hamas having a role in governing postwar Gaza, as Israel continues its campaign to root the group out of the enclave.
But former Israeli intelligence official Avi Melamed told The National that Hamas is “not going to disappear”. “It’s not about eliminating Hamas … but it’s about limiting Hamas’s ability to continue to play such a destructive role,” he said.
Hamas’s finance networks are likely to continue shifting in the coming months as the war in Gaza continues.
European countries have warned Hamas may be expanding its operations to the continent, having traditionally kept a low profile in the West.
In December last year, several suspected Hamas members were arrested in Germany and Denmark, with German prosecutors saying a plot had been uncovered to attack Jewish institutions in Europe and move weapons at the behest of the group’s leaders in Lebanon.
If proven, this would represent “quite a big departure from Hamas’s modus operandi”, said Ms Davis.
Such attacks would probably be funded by European sourc
Hamas’s traditional main sources of funding are expected to diminish amid the destruction in the Gaza Strip
es “because it’s easier to move around money that’s already in place”, she added.
In a signal that Israel may have shared intelligence necessary for the arrests, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed at the time that those detained had been linked to Hamas. Danish authorities did not confirm this until January 12.
Last week, Israel also accused Hamas of plotting an attack on its embassy in Sweden.
The Swedish Foreign Ministry said it could not comment on security aspects of certain missions. Sweden’s Security Police, responsible for the security of foreign diplomatic missions, said no arrests had been made.
The German federal prosecutor’s office said its investigation is continuing, and declined to give further details.
The National has contacted Hamas in Lebanon and the Israeli security services for comment.