The US imposes sanctions on 6 charities in Gaza that flow money to Hamas

Thus, the civil social organizations Wahd, Al-Nur, Kawafil, Al-Falah, “Yadim Rahmanei” and Al-Salama are innocent in appearance, but in reality they are affiliates that belong to the military arm of Hamas – the Az ad-Din Al-Qassam Brigades. Members of the internal security forces of the terrorist organization are among the employees of the associations, and make sure that their friends in Hamas benefit from receiving projects and services from them. An external source of funding that is still available to Hamas is the international property portfolio led by the Shalit transaction manager, Zahar Jabarin, from Istanbul, and is worth about half a billion dollars.

As part of the sanctions that were imposed, all the assets belonging to the associations in the US were confiscated. In addition, any entity that one of the parties owns 50% or more of was blocked. Beyond that, those who maintain relations with those parties risk themselves financial sanctions.

The purpose of the money is hidden

At first glance, these are independent associations. They make sure to raise funds from donors from other countries, while the real purpose of the money – financing the military arm of Hamas – is hidden. OFAC clarified that the measures stem from evidence collected from Hamas offices during the war, in what may indicate that this is intelligence gathering carried out by the IDF in the field, through which the Americans were encouraged to lift the sanctions.

The American information states that the Wahad association receives funding directly from Hamas for the purpose of carrying out projects of the terrorist organization in Gaza. One of the aspects is to act on behalf of Hamas terrorists captured by the IDF during the fighting. It also appears that the al-Nur and al-Falah associations are used as a vehicle for money transfers to Hamas and the provision of services, as well as for payments for the members of the military wing. According to Washington data, more than 2.5 million dollars were transferred to Hamas through al-Falah over the course of three years. And these also convey its current operating instructions in the al-Salamah and Kawafil associations, which Hamas uses for aid and project implementation.

“The charitable associations in the Gaza Strip have a socio-economic role that is strengthened by the absence of a central government and due to the damage to the central government institutions in the Gaza Strip,” explains Dr. Ido Zelkovich, head of the Middle East Studies program at the Jezreel Valley Academy and a researcher at the Chaikin Chair of Geo-Strategy. Hamas’ main goal is to preserve the support of the population.”

The key people of Hamas

Another organization that has received American sanctions is the “People’s Conference of Palestinians Abroad” (PCPA), the main organizer of the recent flotillas to Gaza. The Americans explain that PCPA works secretly on behalf of Hamas as an organization that is on the front, with one of its founders being senior Hamas official Musa Abu Marzouk.

The head of the political bureau of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, who was eliminated, wrote a letter in April 2018, in which he gave instructions regarding the terrorist organization’s intended political takeover of the Palestinian leadership. A familiar element was the escalation of terrorist activity against Israel, while the second was the increase in Hamas’s international activity – and as part of that the PCPA activity. According to the Americans, Hamas financed the first gathering of the popular conference by itself with 100 thousand dollars.

“PCPA does not only work with, or with the assistance of, Hamas – they receive orders from Hamas,” the Foreign Assets Control Ministry said. Similar to the charitable associations, Hamas “instructs” people on its behalf into the organization, with the goal that they will play key roles. Two of them identified in Washington are Adel Saad al-Din Hassan Dafman and Majed Khalil Musa al-Zir, on whom the Treasury Secretariat imposed sanctions on October 7, 2024.

Duffman serves as a permanent representative of Hamas in Europe and leads the activities of the terrorist organization in Austria, while Al-Zir, who served as chairman and president of PCPA, is very active in the aspect of fundraising in Europe in general and in Germany in particular. To both of them, OFAC decided to add Zahar Khaled Hassan Birawi, who acts on behalf of the Hamas organization throughout the UK. Birawi is one of the PCPA’s management team, and one of its founders.

“There is a complex activity here that is identified as part of money transfers from European accounts to Hamas. The Muslim Brotherhood’s organizational support for Hamas is evident even after the war,” says Aviram Blaish, vice president of the Jerusalem Center for Foreign and Security Affairs. According to him, “Hamas is intertwined with the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe and after October 7 even more so. The theory of the Muslim Brotherhood includes ‘opening the doors’: integration into politics and destruction from within. Hamas is affiliated as jihadists, but the Muslim Brotherhood supports them financially and ideologically.”