According to a recent report by an Israeli website, the Palestinian movement Hamas has been employing diverse methods to finance its operations.
International reports cited indicate that a portion of Hamas’s funds are derived from taxes on goods and investments made by the movement.
Businesswoman Rohana Shanbhogue, in an interview with the British news magazine ‘The Economist‘, revealed, “Many economists around the world work for Hamas, with some investing in shopping centers and others in mines.”
She further explained that these economists facilitate the transfer of funds to Gaza through various means, including charitable donations, employee salaries, or direct transfers earmarked for armed activities.
American and Israeli estimates suggest that approximately $360 million of the organization’s annual income comes from taxes on goods imported into Gaza, most of which bypass Western countries.
In response to these findings, the US has imposed several sanctions against Hamas members since October 7 to halt the flow of funds into Gaza.
Despite these measures, Shanbhogue pointed out that Hamas has found multiple ways to circumvent these sanctions. The organization has increasingly turned to the cryptocurrency market to transfer millions of dollars for its operations.
“Hamas changes the names of old companies and registers them as new entities, complicating Western efforts to monitor their financial transactions,” she said.
This report sheds light on the intricate financial strategies employed by Hamas, highlighting the challenges faced by Western countries in tracking and curbing the flow of funds to the organization.
