© Reuters. Palestinian fighters from the armed wing of Hamas participate in a navy parade to mark the anniversary of the 2014 battle with Israel, close to the border within the central Gaza Strip, July 19, 2023. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/File Picture
By Doina Chiacu
(Reuters) -The US and Britain on Wednesday imposed a further spherical of sanctions on individuals in Turkey and elsewhere who’re linked to the Palestinian Hamas militant group, the U.S. Treasury Division mentioned.
The sanctions goal eight officers who advance Hamas’ agenda and pursuits overseas and assist handle its funds, the Treasury mentioned in a press release.
“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,” mentioned Brian Nelson, beneath secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Monetary Intelligence.
A number of of the Hamas officers focused have been primarily based in Turkey, together with one of many group’s key monetary operatives there, Haroun Mansour Yaqoub Nasser Al-Din, Treasury mentioned.
Haroun Nasser Al-Din has been concerned in a community that transferred cash from Turkey and Gaza to the Hamas command middle within the West Financial institution metropolis of Hebron, it mentioned, and helped subsidize Hamas actions to additional unrest within the West Financial institution.
Nelson traveled to Oman and Turkey on the finish of November to work on U.S. efforts to disclaim Hamas and different teams the power to lift and transfer funds.
It was the fourth spherical of U.S. sanctions on the Palestinian militant group following its lethal incursion into Israel on Oct. 7, which Israel says killed 1,200 individuals. Israel’s subsequent navy retaliation has killed 18,000 individuals in Gaza, native well being officers say.
In coordinated actions on Wednesday, Britain’s international workplace mentioned it sanctioned seven further individuals linked to Hamas, together with Mahmoud Zahar, Hamas’ co-founder, and Ali Baraka, Hamas’ head of exterior relations who was additionally sanctioned by the USA.
The UK sanctions additionally goal a pacesetter of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group and figures within the monetary community that backs Hamas, together with people in Lebanon and Algeria.
“Hamas can have no future in Gaza. Today’s sanctions on Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad will continue to cut off their access to funding and isolate them further,” British Overseas Secretary David Cameron mentioned.
It was Britain’s second spherical of sanctions towards Hamas because the Oct. 7 assaults.
The sanctions actions block all property and pursuits in property of the designated individuals in the USA and Britain, in addition to transactions involving the people focused.
Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri advised Reuters that the sanctions have been unjustified and Hamas later mentioned they have been primarily based on false allegations.
“We call on the American administration and the British government once again to review their aggressive policies towards our Palestinian people,” Hamas mentioned in a press release.
Israeli Overseas Minister Eli Cohen welcomed the most recent sanctions and referred to as on different nations to comply with go well with, “as only a persistent uncompromising struggle will lead to the collapse of the Hamas government.”
Others cited by the USA embody Ismail Musa Ahmad Barhum, who helped to gather cash from international fundraising into Hamas finance ministry accounts, the Treasury Division mentioned, and Jihad Muhammad Shaker Yaghmour, Hamas’ official consultant to Turkey.
The sanctions focused Mehmet Kaya, additionally primarily based in Turkey, over his involvement in a number of cash transfers on behalf of Hamas, “ultimately providing tens of millions of dollars of financial services for Hamas,” it mentioned.