The sources of funding for Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood terror group, have been on everyone’s lips since the October 7 attack on Israel. Where do they get financial resources to maintain their bloody regime in Gaza? Israel’s Harpoon intelligence agency, a mixed group of experts from Mossad, the tax authority, the central bank and the police, long ago disclosed the sources of funds of the militant wing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gaza and Hezbollah. Its work ended in 2014 with a decision by then and current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: he allowed Qatar to send money to Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It was probably “the worst political decision in Israeli history,” according to a former Israeli agency employee.
The experts’ work began in 2001 at the behest of Ariel Sharon. It was clear to the former Prime Minister that terrorists had to be cut off from their money supply. All competencies from the tax authorities, customs, secret service, foreign ministry, central bank were pooled – everyone who knew something about the money trail was there. That was unique in the world. At first there was a problem with cooperation because the authorities had different cultures and working rules. But it ended up working incredibly well. In this way, the money channels of Hamas and Hezbollah were largely closed.
After its founding in 1987, Hamas initially received a lot of support from Saudi Arabia and charities. Since September 11, 2001, funds have come primarily from Qatar, Iran, Turkey and more recently from Malaysia, Indonesia. The money flowed partly through the banking system, but because that has become more difficult, also through cryptocurrencies. In the Gaza Strip alone, the terrorist militia had around 2.5 billion US dollars. Only now, after the attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023, have security experts gotten an idea of how much money they really have.
Netanyahu was warned in 2014 not to release the Qatari funds to Hamas because the experts knew that after that no one would cooperate with Israeli security authorities in the fight against Hamas’s terrorist financing. And in fact, Americans and Europeans rightly said afterwards: If you yourself wave the money through from Qatar, why should we help you? Shortly afterwards, the Israeli secret service also all but stopped the fight against terrorist financing.
The consequence was that Hamas was able to develop into a monster. Experts agree: If the balance in the Middle East can be changed, then it cannot be done through military means; rather, the terrorists’ financial flows must be stopped. Only that could have prevented Hamas leaders from further mobilizing their supporters in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
But it is not just Israel that has turned a blind eye to the financing of terrorism: transfers and donations and their intended use must be controlled much more closely. This is particularly true for Western banks, which would have to examine certain financing flows much more closely. The crypto market is hardly regulated, special caution is required here and banks are noticeably lax in dealing with the problem. In general, weaknesses in the fight against money laundering are often seen in the financial sector, unfortunately also at large institutions such as Deutsche Bank.
Drug trafficking also plays a major role in financing Islamist terrorism. Hezbollah, for example, works with South American drug cartels. The money is distributed in Lebanon, and Iran and Syria have also started producing drugs. These regimes earn $30 billion a year from trading Captagon. Americans and Europeans should do a better job of enforcing their own sanctions here. Law enforcement authorities in Western countries would also have to freeze assets more frequently if the owners cannot explain their origin. Last but not least, Turkish banks in particular should be monitored much more closely and, in an emergency, excluded from the Swift payment system if they are caught financing terrorist groups.
The same money that went to Hamas can also be used to carry out terrorist attacks in Europe. Now the world is looking at Israel and Hamas. But Europe should not be surprised if there are also attacks in Germany, for example. The flow of money must urgently be stopped. “It is a catastrophe that Turkey and Qatar are allowed to continue supporting Hamas. Therefore, all Western countries should now jointly exert pressure on Turkey and Qatar,” saya a German intelligence official. “Hamas sold UN aid supplies in the Gaza Strip at high prices to the already poor population. Of course you have to help the Palestinians, but not like that. Hamas has 30,000 people in its military organization, everyone receives a salary of $1,000 every month, which is $30 million a month. Hamas must not have these financial resources,” he concludes.
The world is now looking to Qatar’s mediating role. Europe and the US should demand from Qatar: stop financial support for radicals! The Gulf Emirate has been funding international terrorist groups for more than 20 years, endangering not only Israel but the entire world. There is numerous evidence of this, for example from witness statements in court cases against the emirate. But the West is doing nothing, it has allowed itself to be corrupted, politicians and lobbyists are on the emirate’s payroll.
At the same time, Europe needs gas from Qatar. On the one hand, it is about the question of security of supply, and on the other hand, it is about national security. The terror is not limited to the Middle East; the seeds of extremists have been sown – in mosques and Islamic centers in Europe.
Qatar is very concerned about having a good reputation in the world. The emirate knows full well that if the Western world takes sanctions against small Qatar, it will have big problems. A serious debate in European parliaments about Qatar’s role in supporting Hamas could build a lot of pressure. The West must put the gun on the table. It’s about the survival of democracy.
Brussels and the EU member states could seriously undermine the Islamists’ corporate networks and assets. Iran may also be trying to use states like Germany or France as places to circumvent international sanctions, and there are serious doubts that all European banks are taking the necessary safeguards to prevent terrorist financing.
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