Israel Targets Financiers of Hamas Movement
The Hebrew state kills Sabhi Farawleh, accused of funding and transferring tens of millions of dollars to Hamas, especially its military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades
Israel appears to be executing its plan to target leaders of the Hamas movement, especially those involved in funding the movement. This comes days after National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan stated during his visit to the Hebrew state that there is an agreement to change the approach to the Gaza war by targeting leaders instead of random strikes that lead to the death of a large number of civilians.
According to Hebrew sources, Israel claimed to have killed what it considered the financier of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Sabhi Farawleh, during an attack in Rafah, southern Gaza. The Hebrew state accused Sabhi Farawleh of funding and transferring tens of millions of dollars to the movement, especially its military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades.
The Israeli army and the Shin Bet, in a joint statement, confirmed that “Farawleh and his brother own a currency exchange company” and that he was killed in the heart of the city of Rafah on the orders of the Intelligence and Shin Bet.”
The statement emphasized that “the ability of Hamas‘s military wing to engage in combat depends on the money transferred to it through currency exchanges.” It stressed that the killing of Farawleh “significantly impairs Hamas‘s combat capabilities,” stating that “it is used to pay the salaries of the movement’s fighters during the war.”
Funding for the Hamas movement is among the prominent issues on the agenda of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Several Western countries, such as France, the United States, and Britain, have imposed financial sanctions on leaders of Hamas, including Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Khaled Mashal.
The New York Times reported on the financing of the Hamas movement, indicating that the movement’s support fund amounts to half a billion dollars and comes from companies in Algeria, Turkey, and Sudan. It also pointed out that these funds contributed to financing the October 7th attack on settlements near the Gaza Strip and that the government of Benjamin Netanyahu refused to cut off the movement’s funding after revealing it before the attack.
Isaac Gal, an Israeli expert in Palestinian economics at the Israeli Metvim Institute, said that Hamas “has become adept at establishing and operating a highly branched system of exchange offices through Turkey, Europe, and the United States.”
Netanyahu denied reports suggesting his government’s role in funding Hamas since its takeover of the Gaza Strip in 2005, using a “separate pockets” approach, stating that he transferred money to the movement to prevent a humanitarian collapse in the sector. Political opponents of Netanyahu accused the leader of the Likud Party of allowing the transfer of “money bags” from Qatar to Gaza, confirming that Doha handed over hundreds of millions of dollars to the Palestinian movement under the eyes of the Israeli government.
Former leaders in the Palestinian National Authority and Fatah, such as Mohammed Dahlan, accused the Israeli state of funding the movement to weaken the authority after leaving the Gaza Strip following Hamas‘s takeover.
