The United States has imposed new sanctions on Hamas on the first anniversary of the massacre committed against Israel on October 7 last year. The US Treasury Department announced this yesterday in a note on its website. In particular, they have been designated ”three individuals and a fictitious charity who are major international financial supporters of Hamas, as well as a Hamas-controlled financial institution in Gaza”. He was also ”designated a long-time supporter of Hamas”, the note continues. It’s about ”actors who play critical roles in external fundraising for Hamas, often in the guise of charity work, and who finance the group’s terrorist activities”.
The Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen He said that ”as we mark one year since the brutal terrorist attack by Hamas, the Treasury will continue to relentlessly target the capacity of Hamas and other destabilizing Iranian proxies” so that it can no longer ”fund their operations and carry out further acts violent”.
Who are the financiers sanctioned: one is in Italy
In particular, the US Treasury Department sanctioned three alleged financiers of Hamas including one based in Italy. It’s about Mohammad Hannoun“recognized as a top Hamas agent by Israel in 2013,” as the Jerusalem Post reports. Hannoun leads a charity group called the Charity Association of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (ABSPP), which is accused of funneling money to Hamas’ military wing in the guise of humanitarian aid.
Among others sanctioned, Hamid Abdullah Hussein Al-AhmarYemeni citizen living in Türkiye, former member of parliament for the Muslim Brotherhood party in Yemen, described as one of the most important international supporters of Hamas. Al Ahmar, who chairs the Lebanon-based Al-Quds International Foundation, is described as having played a key role in Hamas’ clandestine investment portfolio, which at its peak managed more than $500 million in assets.
The Treasury also took aim Majed Al-Zeerdescribed as a “senior representative of Hamas in Germany, who is also one of the most senior members of Hamas in Europe and has played a central role in the terrorist group’s European fundraising.” Al-Zeer was designated as a Hamas official by Israel as early as 2013 and was also recognized by German authorities as a leader of Hamas efforts in the country as early as 2018. He has led a wide range of organizations across Europe, including the Palestinian Return Center in London, its subsidiary European Palestinian Conference and the European Palestinian Council for Political Relations (EUPAC).