Israel says it is targeting Hamas’s cryptocurrency accounts
July 9, 2021: Israel has said it will begin seizing cryptocurrency accounts used to raise money for its armed wing of the Palestinian group Hamas.
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz on Thursday ordered security forces to seize the accounts following a joint operation, the ministry said, adding that “electronic wallets” used by Hamas to raise funds using bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies web has been exposed. “
It added that Hamas was running an online fundraising campaign for its military wing, which was intensified after the 11-day war in Gaza in May this year. Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoins are in favor of illegal transactions because they are considered difficult to detect. “Intelligence, technical and legal tools that enable terrorists to get their hands on money around the world is an operational breakthrough,” Gantz was quoted as saying.
Hamas was democratically elected in 2006 and seized the Gaza Strip a year later after a recent coup attempt by the Palestinian group Fatah. Since then, Israel has carried out four major operations in the besieged enclave, killing thousands of civilians. The latest incident took place in May, killing 260 Palestinians, including at least 66 children. On the Israeli side, 13 people were killed, including two children. A shaky ceasefire issued by Egypt has been violated several times over the past month, with Israeli warplanes targeting several areas it says are linked to Hamas military bases.
Last year, the Justice Department said it had seized millions of dollars from cryptocurrency accounts on which armed groups, including al-Qaeda and ISIS, relied to finance their organizations and violent plots. The department said it had seized more than 300 cryptocurrency accounts, four websites and four Facebook pages related to the schemes, as well as about $2 million. At one point in the US investigation, Hamas’s military wing was targeted.
Law enforcement officials seized more than 150 cryptocurrency accounts, which they said contained accounts run by the group and laundered funds through it.
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