Most of the Palestinian terror group’s funding comes from foreign governments, a former US financial analyst specializing in counterterrorism told Euronews.
Over the past two weeks, the US Treasury Department has imposed two rounds of sanctions on Hamas’s top officials and financial networks, following the October 7 attack on Israel.
These sanctions target “additional assets in the Hamas investment portfolio and individuals who facilitate sanctions evasion by Hamas-affiliated companies”indicates the US Department of the Treasury in a press release.
According to Jonathan Schanzer, a former financial analyst at the US Treasury Department responsible for the fight against terrorism, this is a series of investments comprising mainly stakes in real estate companies distributed mainly in the Arab world and held by sympathizers. of Hamas.
“The organization’s supporters allow Hamas to access these funds by transferring the proceeds of these companies to the group ‘through backdoor means’explains Jonathan Schanzer, now senior vice president for research at the “Foundation for Defense of Democracies”.
US sanctions aim to block any type of transaction to or from identified companies and individuals, in order to cut off capital flows to Hamas.
When the United States makes such a decision, other countries usually join in.
But do these sanctions really harm Hamas’ financial resources? Probably not, according to Jonathan Schanzer, particularly because of the large influx of funds from multiple sources.
Nearly half of Hamas’ funding comes from foreign governments
Hamas’ external sources of income are considerable, estimated to amount to several tens of millions of dollars.
However, “As a percentage of the terrorist group’s overall budget, it is much more important to focus primarily on Iran and Qatar”says Jonathan Schanzer.
According to the former counterterrorism analyst, Hamas has an annual budget of around $1 billion (€938 million) to control the Gaza Strip and operate its army.
“Around $200 million comes from Iran. Additionally, $100-200 million comes from Qatar”adds Jonathan Schanzer.
Turkey has been seen as another staunch supporter of the Palestinian group since President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan came to power in 2002.
Unlike many of its NATO and EU allies, Turkey does not consider Hamas a terrorist organization and hosts members of the group on its territory.
Hamas is not a terrorist organization. It is a liberation group, “mujahideen” (Arabic term for Muslims who fight in the name of their faith or their community) who are waging a battle to protect their lands and their people.declared Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to his party’s deputies last week.
Turkey is also home to some of the group’s top leaders, as well as companies that operate under the guise of legitimate businesses while illegally funding Hamas.
Jonathan Schanzer sees Ankara’s position as “very worrying”because the country is part of NATO and, at the same time, “allows illicit financing to take place” on its territory.
The US Treasury Department says other countries such as Iran, Qatar, Sudan and Algeria also harbor significant Hamas members, operatives and financial facilitators.
“They are there as guests of governments. No effort is made to contain, stop or stop them“, underlines Jonathan Schanzer.
“One of the reasons Hamas was able to carry out the attack (in Israel) on October 7 is because the United States and other American allies allowed them to operate there.”further specifies Jonathan Schanzer.
“We turned a blind eye to this activity for over a decade”he adds.
According to the former financial analyst, despite having the largest counterterrorism financial infrastructure in the world, the United States has limited resources.
Furthermore, it is sometimes a question of balancing priorities.
“Choices were made to ignore Hamas financiers in the United States over the past five to ten years because these individuals served as sources for ISIS or other direct threats to the homeland…a decision who is only wise for a certain time”indicates Jonathan Schanzer.
“Financial suicide bombers”
But Hamas’ sources of funding do not stop there.
In addition to the taxes it collects from Gaza’s 2.1 million residents, the organization uses cryptocurrencies as a fundraising method since at least 2019, according to Elliptic, a British company that analyzes virtual currency transactions.
Hamas-linked cryptocurrency wallets seized by Israeli authorities received more than $40 million between 2020 and 2023, as first reported reported the Wall Street Journalciting data from Tel Aviv-based cryptocurrency analytics firm BitOK.
Smuggling of money, weapons and other goods also plays an important role. The Israeli Defense Forces claimed last week that Hamas had smuggled weapons and ammunition through tunnels under the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip before the October 7 attack.
Looking back on his time working at the U.S. Treasury, Jonathan Schanzer recalled encountering what were called “financial suicide bombers.”
This term applies to businessmen who take out loans supposedly for their entrepreneurial activity, but who instead “hand over the money to Hamas and don’t pay it back” debt, explains Jonathan Schanzer.
The final source of funding he cited is non-governmental organizations, such as charities.
The case of the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) is a success story for American counterterrorism efforts. Founded in 1989 and based in Texas, it was the largest Muslim charitable organization in the United States.
In December 2001, the United States designated the HLF a terrorist organization, seized its assets, and shut it down. Since 1995, when it became illegal to provide financial support to Hamas, the organization has provided approximately $12.4 million in funding to the group, according to the Justice Department in Washington.
In addition to the United States, Jonathan Schanzer acknowledges the existence of charitable organizations linked to Hamas in Europe, notably in the United Kingdom and South Africa.
For example, Interpal, or Palestinian Relief and Development Fund, is a London-based charity established in 1994 to help Palestinians. In 2003, the United States designated it a terrorist association for its alleged support of Hamas.
However, in 2010, after three investigations by British authorities, the High Court in London ruled that it was defamatory to claim that Interpal supported the Palestinian group. The charity therefore continues to operate from the British capital.
““There are many entities that are suspected of financing Hamas. It is even proven for some. But the standard of proof is different depending on the country, so these networks continue to function.”concludes Jonathan Schanzer.