Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz sign An order authorizing security forces to confiscate cryptocurrency accounts believed to be related to the Hamas radicals, the de facto governing body of the Palestinian Gaza Strip.
Quite Say The joint security operation between the National Counter-Terrorism Financing Agency of the Ministry of Defense and the security forces “discovered an electronic wallet network” is believed to be related to Hamas and its ongoing fundraising activities using Bitcoin (Bitcoin) And other cryptocurrencies.
Hamas’ long-term effort to raise funds through cryptocurrency Have It is said that After the 11-day war between Israel and the organization in May this year, it has recently accelerated. In his statement, Gantz proposed “intelligence, technology, and legal tools” that enabled the authorities to intercept funds, calling them “operational breakthroughs.”
Wallet details The documents seized by the ministry showed that they contained Tether (USDT), Ether (Ethereum), Dogecoin (dog), Ripple, Binance Coin (Bitcoin), Zcash (ZEC), Litecoin (LTC) And many other altcoins. A large number of wallets are related to designated individuals, but most have been designated as anonymous by the authorities.
Hamas turned to cryptocurrency due to its financial isolation, which stems from its classification as a terrorist organization in whole or in part by many countries and international groups (including the United States and the European Union). Neither Russia, Turkey nor China has listed Hamas as a terrorist entity.
related: According to reports, Hamas activists use multiple BTC wallet addresses to evade the authorities
Having ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007, the organization includes a social service department “Dawah” and a radical department “Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades”, the latter has always supported Bitcoin fundraising activities recorded by Hamas. Over the years, the Kassam brigade has developed increasingly complex strategies Prevent investigating agencies from red flags on wallets Associate with their campaign.
According to a web desktop report issued by IDC’s International Counter-Terrorism Research Institute (ICT) in 2020, the digital wallet is said to be related to Hamas and Iran-affiliated al-Nasser Salah al-Deen Brigades (the military branch of the Palestinian People’s Army).Resistance Committee) Yes Successfully raised nearly 3,370 BTC in four years.
