The U.S. Treasury Department and the United Kingdom announced a new coordinated tranche of sanctions against the Hamas terrorist group. These current restrictions constitute the fourth time that the Gaza based organization has fallen under financial penalty since their Oct. 7 massacre in southern Israel.
The sanctions reportedly apply to eight individuals who are responsible for procuring foreign funding to expedite violent attacks against Israel.
In a press release on Wednesday, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control stated that this latest action, “targets key officials who perpetuate Hamas’s violent agenda by representing the group’s interests abroad and managing its finances.”
The individuals targeted, mainly located in Lebanon and NATO member Turkey, include Haroun Nasser Al-Din, who is alleged to be responsible for not only transferring funds to Gaza, but also to the Hamas command center in the West Bank city of Hebron.
Other persons included in the endeavor are Hamas co-founder, Mahmoud Zahar, the head of external relations, Ali Baraka, and the terror group's official representative to Turkey, Jihad Yaghmour.
The government in Ankara has come under sharp criticism from many Western nations for allowing Hamas confederates to operate without interference in their country. Adding to this criticism, Turkish President Recep Erdogan announced on Dec. 6 that any attempt by Israeli intelligence agencies to redress this situation would have “very serious” consequences.
Brian Nelson, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, released a statement saying, “Hamas continues to rely heavily on networks of well-placed officials and affiliates, exploiting seemingly permissive jurisdictions to direct fundraising campaigns for the group’s benefit and funneling those illicit proceeds to support its military activities in Gaza.”
Israel's Foreign Minister, Eli Cohen, welcomed Wednesday's actions calling them, “Another step in the joint fight on the diplomatic front against the terror group, worse than ISIS, through all means available to the international community.”
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