Sixteen years have passed since Hamas forcibly took control of all branches of government in Gaza, expelling or throwing Fatah activists from the rooftops. Over the years, many Israeli scholars have said that this was the turning point for the murderous terrorist organization. Slowly, with the support of international aid organizations, and not least indirect support from Israel, Hamas became a government terrorist organization. In other words, even though it has not ceased for a moment from a threatening military buildup at the doorstep of the State of Israel in general and the Gaza envelope in particular, the organization enjoys the disguise it has put on itself: a national leadership for the Palestinians in Gaza. The ruling status gave it what Hezbollah could only dream of over the years: legitimacy and the injection of huge sums of money, which directly financed the construction of tunnels, the acquisition of advanced technologies, military training and the enlargement of a hired army. Billions of dollars dictated the way for that Black Saturday massacre.
The governments of Israel, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, the army and the Shin Bet saw the bloody paths, but were captive to the concept according to which Hamas is already an established governing body, and as such it has something to lose, and therefore, despite the accumulation of capabilities and power, it will refrain from using them murderously. Economic researchers of terrorist organizations with whom we spoke in recent days expressed great frustration and anger. For years they have been seeing the numbers, the money routes, and warning about the same capital that finances Hamas' military buildup. And here, the data is here. To see and not to believe.
The total annual budget available to the Hamas regime in Gaza is $2.5-2 billion a year. This is according to Yitzhak Gal, an expert on the Middle East and Palestinian economies, who has conducted extensive consulting work on financing the Hamas regime. This is a huge sum compared to the size of the Gaza Strip's economy. It accounts for 70-65% of Gaza's GDP (gross domestic product = total economy). By comparison, Gal notes, the Palestinian Authority's budget for Judea and Samaria is just over $3 billion, constituting only 20 percent of the territory's GDP. In Israel, the budget currently accounts for about 25 percent of GDP. Following the massacre in the Gaza Strip, a document published a week ago by the US Treasury Department estimates the value of Hamas assets at hundreds of millions of dollars.
Dr. Udi Levy, a senior researcher at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, an expert on financial warfare and head of the Economic War on Terrorist Organizations Unit (which closed in 2016), explains: "In the Gaza Strip, a portion of falafel costs 7-5 shekels, there is 50 percent unemployment, so it was clear that Hamas' huge budget was directed to employing workers who built the tunnels, purchasing weapons, training and employing fighters – and not for the benefit of civilians. We've seen all the iron trucks that have entered the Gaza Strip over the years, all to buy quiet. I screamed against the concept of bringing money into the Gaza Strip, I argued that Hamas had to be brought down economically – and it didn't help. But it's not too late. Even today, with a series of steps that will not endanger a single soldier, the Israeli government can economically strangle Hamas and Hezbollah, and it must act now."
Hamas came to power in Gaza in 2007 and has enjoyed the steady support of most Gazans ever since. Over time, he established the bank, recruited officials, and became a Palestinian government second to that of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. "Hamas managed to build such a large budget for themselves by manipulating the PA and Israel into allowing large budgets to flow from legitimate external sources, covering all the civilian expenses of the government in Gaza, while also leaking substantial sums from these sources to finance their military campaigns (mainly military manpower and dual-use products).
"At the same time, they have developed their own sources of income, under their exclusive control, which are available to be used fully for military equipment, military force buildup and maintenance of Hamas' supreme governmental apparatus in Gaza, which includes a layer of several thousand senior managers." According to Dr. Levy, this basic "double budget" structure has existed in Gaza for about 15 years.
Gal, Levy and a former senior official in the political echelon outline the main money routes that have been flowing into the Gaza Strip for a decade and a half. The first is the Palestinian Authority's budget. The second is external economic aid, which was formerly in the hands of the international community and relied in recent years on Qatar. The third is Hamas' charitable coalition, a multimillion-dollar donation network originating mainly in Turkey. The fourth is Hamas' local tax collection, and the fifth is Iranian funding against Israel, which sweeps through Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip.
More specifically, this is how the financial system of a murderous terrorist organization was built, which rolls hundreds of millions a year under the noses of Israel and the entire world.
1. The PA budget:
6.6 billion shekels a year for Hamas
The PA's budget is about NIS 20 billion a year, 65 percent of which comes from Israel – tax and customs payments. Of the total budget, the PA is supposed to transfer one-third to the Hamas administration in Gaza, to pay government institutions, hospitals and municipal authorities in the Gaza Strip. The transfer of funds from the PA budget to Gaza is carried out in an orderly manner through the Palestinian banking system, which is controlled by the Bank of Israel. Moreover, Palestinian banks are in constant fear of violating international regulations against the financing of terrorism and being blacklisted by American and other authorities, and therefore the transfer of funds to Gaza is carried out under special arrangements and special "legitimacy" by Israel.
נוסף על ההעברות הישירות לעזה, כמה מאות מיליוני דולר בשנה מתוך התקציב הפלשתיני מועברים ישירות על ידי הרש"פ לישראל, כתשלום עבור חשמל, מים, שירותים רפואיים ועוד המסופקים על ידי המדינה לעזה. מאז שנישל חמאס את אנשי פת"ח מעמדות השלטון, הרש"פ מקזזת לאורך השנים את התקציב לפקידי חמאס - הרי הם, בין היתר, אנשי הזרוע הצבאית.
"הרשות פה בתוך מלכוד", אומר גל. "מצד אחד תושבי עזה הם חלק מהעם הפלשתיני, אז קשה לה לא לממן חינוך ובריאות. מנגד, הרש"פ בגירעון עצום מהתשלומים שהיא משלמת לעזה. 100 אחוז מהגירעון כולו מעזה, כי זה חור שחור. שופכים כסף, אבל את המסים לא היא מקבלת אליה, אלא חמאס".
חיסול מחבלי חמאס בעזה | דובר צה"ל
ממשלת ישראל, שראתה את המשבר הזה מתנפץ לפתחה ב־2018, ארגנה מרצון את מה שכונה לימים "מזוודות הכסף" הקטאריות לרצועה (על כך בהמשך), שנועדו לכסות על הכספים שהרשות קיזזה מיוזמתה. "בנקודת זמן מסוימת, אבו מאזן החליט לקצץ חלק מהתקציבים שנהג לתת לפקידות הממשלתית ברצועה - מורים, שוטרים, רופאים", מעיד מי שהיה בזמן אמת גורם משמעותי בקבלת ההחלטות בישראל. "הוא רצה שישראל תתנגש בחמאס, שלא יהיה להם כסף, והוא יתחיל להשתולל על הגדר ויהיה עימות.
"כשהתחילו הפגנות הגדר עלו הצעות, ואחת מהאפשרויות היתה שאת הכסף שאבו מאזן קיצץ - ייתנו הקטארים. כדי שהם לא יוכלו לעשות בו שימוש לזרוע הצבאית, הוחלט שהכסף ייכנס באמצעות רכש של דלק שמימן את החשמל, כסף לפקידות שאבו מאזן מימן, ובאמצעות תמיכת סעד ישירה לאנשים ברשימות שנבדקו על ידי חמאס".
2. הכסף הקטארי:
30 מיליון דולר בחודש לחמאס + עשרות מיליונים מדי שנה בתרומות
המענק החודשי לחמאס ברצועת עזה, שהחל ב־2018 בממשלת נתניהו הרביעית, נועד כאמור לפצות על כספים שלא הגיעו עוד מהרשות הפלשתינית. הסכום הכולל עומד על 30 מיליון דולר מדי חודש, אך בעוד זהו האפיק המדובר ביותר למעבר כסף בין קטאר לחמאס, שזכה גם ל"תעודת כשרות" ישראלית - לדברי לוי, יש שני מסלולים נוספים שבהם האמירות הערבית הקטנה והעשירה מממנת באין מפריע טרור ברחבי העולם, וגם כאן אצלנו.
במסלול השני, לדברי לוי, קטאר מעבירה תמיכה כספית ישירות להנהגת חמאס שמתאכסנת אצלה. מדובר בהרבה מאוד כסף, שקונה מעמד וכוח וגם מממן את הטרור החמאסי על אדמת טורקיה, לבנון וכמובן ישראל. ובמסלול השלישי - הקטארים, אלו שנחזים כעת להיות מתווכים הוגנים בעסקאות שחרור החטופים הישראלים, מעבירים כספים ישירות למימון טרור דרך אגודות הצדקה של חמאס (הדעווה).
בעבודת מחקר של ד"ר לוי מוצגים בפירוט נתיבי הכסף הקטארי, בין היתר, כפי שהתבררו בתביעת נפגעי טרור ישראלים שהוגשה בשנים 2016-2014 נגד Qatar Charity ,Qatar National Bank ו־Masraf Al Rayan Bank, על כך שהיו מעורבים בתמיכה ובמימון של הפיגועים, וניצלו את הקשרים הבנקאיים בתוך ארה"ב כדי לספק בסופו של דבר דולרים אמריקניים לחמאס ולג'יהאד האסלאמי. קטאר השתמשה במוסדות הצדקה שלה כדי לנתב כספים בלתי חוקיים לארגוני טרור באמצעות המערכת הבנקאית האמריקנית.
לאחר שהועבר דרך בנקים הממוקמים בניו יורק, הכסף נשלח לכאורה לחשבונות הצדקה הקטארית בבנק פלשתין ובבנק האסלאמי ברמאללה, ושם חולק לחמאס ולג'יהאד. לפי התביעה, בין מארס לספטמבר 2015 הועברו לפחות 28 מיליון דולר על ידי ארגון הצדקה הקטארי לשני הבנקים ברמאללה.
אפיק נוסף ל"השקעה" הקטארית בחמאס הוא השקעה בבכירי ארגון הטרור ומימונם. בעת עסקת שליט שוחררו גם 40 מחבלים שהוגדרו איום בולט על ביטחון ישראל והוגלו. ממשלת קטאר קיבלה אחריות ל־15 מתוכם, והבטיחה להם דיור והכנסה חודשית. מיותר לציין כי הם לא שינו את מוקד התעסוקה שלהם מאז ועד היום. קטאר אף פתחה לפעילים אלה חשבונות בבנק הקטארי QNB. בין אלה שנפתחו להם חשבונות בנק היו מוסא דודין וחוסאם בדראן, פעילי חמאס עם דם על הידיים, ואחלאם עארף אחמד תמימי, שהיה ברשימת המבוקשים של ה־FBI.
צירי כסף כפולים מקטאר לחמאס. כרזות מנהיגי קטאר בעצרת חמאס בח'אן יונס, צילום: AP
"מצעד האיוולת זה פה", אומר גל על שני הנתיבים העיקריים למימון חמאס - הרש"פ וקטאר. "גם ישראל וגם הרש"פ נתנו לארגון, בצורה הכי נדיבה שיכולה להיות, את הכלים לקיים את השלטון שלו. אז הוא בונה קצת בתי ספר, עושה טובה ונותן לקהילה הבינלאומית לבנות מתקן לטיהור שפכים, אלה הדברים שהוא עושה בין המלחמות. ובסופו של דבר, הוא הצליח לתמרן את כולם שיעבדו בשבילו: הרש"פ מחזיקה את המערכות העיקריות, ואירופה והקהילה הבינלאומית נתנו כסף לתחזוקה שוטפת של עזה - עד שהוחלפו בקטארים.
"התרומה העיקרית של מקורות אלו להתעצמות הצבאית של חמאס, היא בכך שהם משחררים את חמאס מלדאוג למימון המערכת האזרחית והשירותים הבסיסיים לאוכלוסייה. דבר זה מאפשר לחמאס להפנות את כל המקורות העצמיים שלו, מגביית מסים עצמית, מסיוע איראני וכדומה, לטובת מימון המערכת הצבאית והתעצמות. ניתן להעריך את ההיקף הכולל של תקציבים 'חופשיים' אלו, המשמשים לצרכים הצבאיים של חמאס, בסדר גודל של כמעט מיליארד דולר בשנה".
3. קואליציית הצדקה (דעווה) ומערך ההשקעות של חמאס:
חצי מיליארד דולר בשנה
"מערך השקעות של חמאס פרוס בכל העולם הערבי, הרבה מאוד ממנו בטורקיה, והוא מגלגל חצי מיליארד דולר בשנה", אומר לוי. טורקיה למעשה משמשת צומת מרכזי לגיוס כספים למימון הטרור באמצעות "קואליציית הצדקה" מצד אחד, ובאמצעות השקעות בחברות שונות כמו נדל"ן, קרנות השקעות ועוד מנגד. בזמן שהסכמי אברהם הובילו הלכה למעשה לצמצום יחסית מהיר של הפעילות הכלכלית של חמאס באותן המדינות - מי שקלטה את פוטנציאל ההשקעות היא טורקיה, שגם בה יושב חלק ניכר מהנהגת הארגון.
Data from the US Treasury Department, which is currently imposing sanctions on the money routes of the murderous terrorist organization, indicate that one of the ways to transfer the funds to the Gaza Strip is through virtual currency wallets. One of the wallet addresses seized by Israel in 2021 belongs to Buy Cash Money and Money Transfer, which provides money transfer and virtual currency exchange services, including Bitcoin. In 2017, for that matter, a Buy Cash account was registered by those engaged in procurement for ISIS. Such a domain is used by financial activity in Gaza through virtual currencies and the transfer of goods.
Uzi Shaya, a former senior Shin Bet and Mossad official who dealt with financial operations, describes how Hamas in Saudi Arabia established an extensive network of dozens of commercial companies owned by its operatives. "The chain dealt with investments, and everything was managed by a company in Saudi Arabia called Anda. In the past two or three years, with the rapprochement in relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, they threw them out, and Hamas' financial management center moved to Turkey, managed by Saleh Arouri's deputy." The companies, according to Shaya's figures, have between half a billion and 700 million dollars, which have built the organization's strength outside the Gaza Strip as well. In addition, most of the accounts of senior Hamas figures are in banks in Qatar, the UAE and Turkey, some 90 accounts known to Israel. "The world saw Gaza as poor and beaten, while Hamas got rich unhindered," Shaya says.
In 2009, Hamas established a parallel financial organization, the Palestinian Islamic Bank. The Americans were quick to include him on the sanctions list, but did not really restrict his steps. According to the bank's financial statements, about $100 million passed through it each year. The bank is currently in ruins following the Israeli Air Force's activity, but its accounts are still active. The main way to transport financial support for Hamas into the Gaza Strip is through a global network of money changers. A similar system exists in Judea and Samaria and supports terrorism there.
According to Levy, Israel knows and monitors these moneychangers, but does nothing. And he knows. Until 2016, he headed the economic counterterrorism unit, established by former Mossad chief Meir Dagan in 2001. Oddly, the unit was closed in 2016, as stated, and the strategic focus on the terrorist economy shifted to specific and tactical activities only.
"In practice, the manpower involved in financing terrorism is low in numbers, and is the lowest priority. Sharon and Olmert in their time made it a very high priority, and after them dealing with a terrorist economy dropped completely." He mentions the General Staff body established in the Ministry of Defense, but is considered toothless – over the past few years there have been reports that it has taken in individual cases, alongside the Shin Bet. These very days, as lessons learned from the massacre, 8200 is establishing a new body that will deal exclusively with monitoring the funds for financing the murderous terrorist organizations.
4. Collection of taxes:
$300 million a year
Under the guise of legitimate rule, the terrorist organization targeted the residents of the Gaza Strip, who elected it en masse year after year. Thus, in effect, every merchandise that entered the Gaza Strip paid double taxes to Hamas as well. Workers who recently left for Israel in many thousands, along with their activity in the massacre, simply jumpstarted Hamas' economy, with a significant sum deducted from every salary that entered the Gaza Strip and was paid by Israelis, which was transferred to the terror organization's apparatuses. "Hamas collects more than $300 million in taxes every year – from moneychangers, workers and trucks transporting goods," Levy says.
Over the past two years, the number of workers from the Gaza Strip in Israeli territory has risen at an alarming rate, on the recommendation of professional ranks in the army and COGAT. The trend became bright in Bennett's government, which even took credit for it at the time. A former political source estimated: "The big tax revenues come from Israel. A Palestinian worker can earn 7,000 shekels a month, which is sometimes equal to seven local salaries in Gaza, and from this salary a huge tax rate is collected, and we have no ability to control it or see where he is going."
According to him, even if the same worker came back with sugar and flour, Hamas also derives a coupon from that. The introduction of workers, which was supposed to contribute to Israel's reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, has effectively led to the preservation of Hamas' military power in the way the entire Gaza Strip works – all the money that enters becomes toxic.
Gal estimates: "The source of taxation contributes about 20 percent of Hamas' budget, and is fully used by the organization's military apparatuses and buildup." He adds: "Hamas's illegitimate system of self-collection and customs duties on imports to Gaza from Israel and Egypt is done with Israel turning a blind eye, which was well aware of the collection system and enabled it. Had Israel wanted to, it could have severely damaged these systems as well. Hamas collects taxes using the methods of road robbers from goods coming from Israel. After the VAT has already been paid to the PA, when the truck crosses the border into Gaza, the Hamas customs office stops it and collects more money. Same in Rafah. Fuel with high collections is transported through Egypt, and then taxes are collected."
5. Iranian funding:
$250 million a year
If you have reached these ranks without catching your head in despair, here is another statistic into the financial cauldron that financed the massacre in the envelope, and the preparations for it and the ground war in Gaza: Iran is not only engaged in developing nuclear capabilities somewhere. For many months, the heads of the defense establishment have been warning that Iran is sending money and weapons to Judea and Samaria, as well as Gaza, in order to start a campaign against Israel through its local enemies. Until now, the military-security echelon has focused on what is happening in Judea and Samaria, in the assessment that there Iranian money will use terror attacks against Israelis more quickly and lethally.
According to Levy, based on research he conducted, the Iranian money that finances terrorism in our region turns over $250 million worldwide every year. Under the noses of Americans and Europeans. According to him, "there are no sanctions and nothing" against the money to finance terrorism, and so Iran, Hezbollah and the Syrians have taken over the $30 billion market for counterfeit drugs and drugs. World? "Close your eyes." Levy mentions the drugs found on the bodies of Hamas terrorists found in the envelope, and says: "These are exactly the drugs with which they poison the world."
According to Shaya, "In recent years, the Iranians have become Hamas' main funder. The money managed to pass through an extensive network of money changers: some in the Gaza Strip (about ten people known to the army), against a moneychanger network in Turkey and opposite the one in Lebanon." So how does it work? The Iranian money lands in Lebanon – money changers using the hawala method (money transferred through a third party: if I owe you money and can't transfer it, they take it from another person, and then the money comes back to him from the money changer) transfer it to Turkey and from there to Gaza. This is how millions of Iranian dollars passed.
Unequivocal proof of Iran's fingerprints in financing Hamas' military activity finds a suspension in cyber activity in 2018. He then describes that a cyber breach of the financial institution Al-Qard al-Hassan in Lebanon exposed 400,<> accounts belonging to Hezbollah terrorist operatives. "It's a financial institution that is boycotted by the Americans, and it still works great," Shaya says sarcastically. There were also millions of dollars transferred to aid the intifada and the Palestinians.
According to Gal, "It is difficult to estimate the scope of Iranian aid, some of which is military equipment smuggled into the Gaza Strip, and the larger part is money transferred through money changers. These systems, of course, have many vulnerabilities, but international supervision over them is tightening all the time. It's hard to believe that they manage to transfer more than a few hundred million dollars a year in all these crooked ways, and we still shouldn't underestimate it, because all this money is invested directly in terrorism, but the overall weight of this element in the totality of funding the Hamas regime is secondary." According to a current political source, according to Israeli estimates, 93 percent of the terrorist organization's military funding comes from Iran alone.
***
What do we do now?
The money routes, as mentioned, are familiar to the Shin Bet, Mossad and the army, and all the experts we spoke with recommend working now to bring down the organization's economic infrastructure. They stress, and this is important, military action can eliminate their power, but the reserves of money and senior officials abroad will be able to rehabilitate the ISIS organization in a short time. Only a strategic war against Hamas' economy will prevent it from being rebuilt as a threat to Israeli citizens. In the hope that our officials will take a look at this article - here are some courses of action.
According to Levy, "an all-out war must be waged against moneychangers. Carry out extensive arrests of money changers operating in the service of Hamas in the West Bank, and treat them as terrorists for all intents and purposes. And in Gaza, even in the process of reconstruction, we will not allow the growth of a new bank."
The Iranian axis. Iranian President Raisi and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh meet in Tehran, June 2023, photo: AP
Gal also recommends stopping PA funds into the Gaza Strip, and regarding Qatar, Levy and Gal strongly recommend removing the small, terror-loving emirate completely from the game. If a foreign financier is needed in Gaza the day after, Levy recommends the Saudis, while Gal recommends returning the Palestinian Authority to Gaza. "As long as the government in Gaza is not subordinated to the one in Ramallah, Israel must force a complete halt to budget transfers, and prevent imports of few essential goods," Gal says. In the face of the digital currency market, Levy recommends "acting vis-à-vis the Americans, and imposing significant sanctions against those digital exchanges that have so far completely ignored Israel's declarations of terror."
To summarize the information in this article, Shaya says emphatically: "In order to eliminate Hamas and its idea, da'wah and their civilian institutions must be eliminated. This has not happened so far, and here we have failed as a country. Eliminating Hamas as an organization must include damaging its economic infrastructure."
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