US and UK team up to hit Hamas financiers with new sanctions
New US and UK sanctions target key Hamas financial operatives based in Gaza, Lebanon and Turkey
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President Biden's administration and the United Kingdom on Wednesday slapped a fourth round of sanctions on Hamas members and financiers, the U.S. Treasury Department announced.
The new sanctions target eight individuals who perpetuate the terrorist group's violent agenda by representing Hamas abroad and managing its finances, the Treasury Department said.
"Hamas continues to rely heavily on networks of well-placed officials and affiiates, 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," said Brian Nelson, under-secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.
"We remain focused, as do our allies and partners, on leveraging our collective tools and authorities to degrade Hamas’s ability to fund additional attacks and further destabilize the region," Nelson added.
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Palestinian fighters from the armed wing of Hamas take part in a military parade to mark the anniversary of the 2014 war with Israel, near the border in the central Gaza Strip, July 19, 2023. (REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/File Photo / Reuters Photos)
Several of the Hamas officials targeted were based in Turkey, including one of the group's key financial operatives there, Haroun Mansour Yaqoub Nasser Al-Din, the Treasury said.
Haround Nasser Al-Din has been involved in a network that transferred money from Turkey and Gaza to the Hamas command center in the West Bank city of Hebron, it said, and helped subsidize Hamas activities to further unrest in the West Bank.
Other Hamas leaders targeted by the sanctions are based in Lebanon, including Ali Abed Al Rahman Baraka, the head of Hamas' National Relations Board.
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A military helicopter flies over the flag of Turkey. Several Hamas officials targeted by U.S. sanctions are based in Turkey, including Haroun Mansour Yaqoub Nasser Al-Din, a key financial operative for the terror group. (AP / AP Newsroom)
Baraka previously was Hamas' diplomatic representative to Lebanon and has spoken in support of the terrorist group's violent campaigns, the Treasury said. In public statements, Baraka has said Hamas draws on money and training from Iran and Iranian proxy groups like Hezbollah to bolster its fighting forces in Gaza, according to the Treasury.
As Israel conducts war in Gaza to eliminate Hamas after the Oct. 7 terror attacks, senior Hamas leaders are hiding out across the Middle East, far away from the fighting.
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The U.S. State Department said the U.S. will continue to coordinate closely with the United Kingdom to target key Hamas officials with sanctions. (Celal Gunes / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate last month identified Hamas financiers and political leaders who are spread out in Iran, Qatar, Lebanon and Turkey. From these safe locations, they manage budgets, direct terror operations and run public relations campaigns for the terror group.
Previous rounds of U.S. sanctions in October and November targeted Hamas leaders in these countries and other sources of financing for the terror group.
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"Over two months ago, Hamas brought a tragic war to Gaza and has compounded and perpetuated the suffering of people in Gaza at every step of the crisis it created," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
"We closely coordinated this action with the United Kingdom, which is concurrently targeting several key Hamas officials with sanctions. The United States and our allies and partners are steadfast in our commitment to dismantling networks that support Hamas funding streams as part of our continuous effort to prevent and deter its terrorist activity," he said.
Fox News Digital's Michael Lee and Reuters contributed to this report.