In a move to disrupt terrorist financing, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated several individuals and entities in Europe, quoting links to Hamas’s international fundraising operations. The action, announced on the one-year commemoration of the terrorist group’s October 7 massacre in southern Israel, represents the eighth round of US sanctions targeting the group’s financial networks since the attack.
In the official publication, Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen emphasized the department’s commitment to “relentlessly degrading the ability of Hamas and other destabilizing Iranian proxies to finance their operations and carry out additional violent acts.” The sanctions target three individuals, one “charity” group, and a Hamas-controlled financial institution in Gaza, along with a longstanding Hamas financier and nine of his businesses.
At the center of the designations is Hamid Abdullah Hussein al Ahmar, a Yemeni national residing in Turkey and former member of parliament on behalf of the Muslim Brotherhood Party in Yemen, who is described as one of Hamas’s most prominent international supporters.
Ahmar chairs the Lebanon-based Al-Quds International Foundation, a sham “charity” group previously designated by the US as a fundraising front for Hamas as well. Ahmar, who is himself described as playing a key role in Hamas’s clandestine investment portfolio, managed over $500 million in assets at its peak.
The Treasury also targeted Europe-based Hamas officials. First among these is Majed al-Zeer, a Germany-based operative described in the US designation as a “senior Hamas representative in Germany, who is also one of the senior Hamas members in Europe and has played a central role in the terrorist group’s European fundraising.”
Designated as a Hamas official by Israel back in 2013, Zeer was also recognized by German authorities as a leader of Hamas efforts in the country as early as 2018. He led a wide array of organizations across Europe, including the Palestinian Return Centre in London, the European Palestinian Conference subsidiary, and the European Palestinian Council for Political Relations (EUPAC) – some of which have been described as Hamas fronts by Palestinian outlets.
Sham and front charities abroad
ANOTHER DESIGNATED official is Mohammad Hannoun, an operative based in Italy, who was also recognized as a main Hamas operative by Israel in 2013. Hannoun leads a local “charity” group called the Charity Association of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (ABSPP) – also in the US designation – which is accused of funneling money to Hamas’s military wing under the guise of humanitarian aid.
The last individual to have been designated is Adel Doughman, also known as Adel Abdallah, an Austria-based operative who was also part of the 2013 Israeli designation decree. Doughman reportedly led his own “charity” organization known as the Palestinian Community in Austria (PVOE), designated by the US as yet another Hamas front as early as 2003.
Lastly, an unlicensed bank named Al-Intaj Bank in Gaza was also designated for providing financial services to Hamas outside the international financial system, effectively helping the group skirt international sanctions.
The Treasury designation shines a spotlight on the slippery nature of the non-profit organization sector in its exploitation by terrorist financiers. Officials estimate that Hamas may have received up to $10 million monthly from donations to these sham charities, with Europe being a key source of fundraising.
These designations aim to block all US-based property and interests of the named individuals and entities, as well as prohibit US persons from engaging in transactions with them. Non-US nationals and financial institutions were warned of potential sanction risks for engaging with the designated parties.
The Treasury emphasized that these sanctions are not intended to hinder legitimate humanitarian assistance to vulnerable populations, stressing that OFAC’s sanctions programs include provisions for humanitarian support, and the department remains committed to enabling the flow of legitimate aid.
This is the latest in a string of efforts of the US government to disrupt Hamas’s financial networks, which highlights the complex challenge of balancing counterterrorism efforts with humanitarian concerns in conflict-affected regions like Gaza.
Uzi Shaya, an ex-official at the Israeli security establishment, told The Jerusalem Post that the designated entities played an important role in the civilian array of Hamas – also known as Da’wah, or call to Islam. This array, used by many other groups affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, claims to provide social and communal services, humanitarian aid, and even media-related endeavors, but in reality, it all serves as a cover for the propagation of extremist Islamist ideologies and the aforementioned fundraising attempts for terrorist organizations.
“In order to put an end to the Hamas regime in Gaza, military endeavors will not be enough,” Shaya said. “Damaging these organizations’ so-called ‘civilian’ financial infrastructure is of great importance.”