Sweet and Spicy: what's the buzz on honey infusions? | SaltWireLONDON/DUBAI - Palestinian militant group Hamas uses a global financing network to funnel support from charities and friendly nations, passing cash through Gaza tunnels or using cryptocurrencies to bypass international sanctions, according to experts and officials.
Matthew Levitt, a former U.S. official specialised in counterterrorism, estimated the bulk of Hamas' budget of more than $300 million came from taxes on business, as well as from countries including Iran and Qatar or charities. "Hamas has been one of the more successful users of crypto for the financing of terrorism," said Tom Robinson, co-founder of blockchain research firm Elliptic.
"One likely reason for the low donation volume is that Israeli authorities are targeting them immediately," TRM said, adding that Israel had seized cryptocurrency worth"tens of millions of dollars" from Hamas-linked addresses in recent years. Gas-rich Qatar too has paid hundreds of millions of dollars to Gaza since 2014, at one point spending $30 million per month to help operate the enclave's sole power plant and to support needy families and public servants in the Hamas-run government.