Law enforcement officials seized more than 150 cryptocurrency accounts that they say laundered funds to and from accounts operated by the Hamas group.
The Israeli government has declared that the Bitcoin network and cryptocurrency accounts of Palestine’s most prominent militant organization, Hamas, will be shut down in the near future.
Israel believes Hamas is using cryptocurrencies to raise funds for military operations against the Jewish state. The Gaza Strip is controlled by Hamas, a Palestinian militant group.
According to WGN Radio 750,
“Law enforcement officials seized more than 150 cryptocurrency accounts that they say laundered funds to and from accounts operated by the group.”
Israel’s Defense Minister, Benny Gantz, addressed at a bilateral meeting with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon in Washington.
Gantz said that he had ordered Israel’s military forces to seize and destroy Hamas’ cryptocurrency accounts.
Following a joint operation, the ministry claimed to have “uncovered a web of electronic wallets” used by Hamas to generate funding in the form of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to reinforce their military forces.
Gantz alleged that since the 11-day Gaza attacks in May 2021, the Palestinian militant group has been launching online campaigns to generate donations for the Palestinian army.
To avoid Israeli authorities tracking the funds, they were collected in the form of decentralized currency.
“The intelligence, technological and legal tools that enable us to get our hands on terrorists’ money around the world constitute an operational breakthrough,” said Gantz
During the year 2020, the US Justice Department conducted a similar sweep against terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS. These organizations had bitcoin accounts set up to assist their armed actions’ financial needs.
The US reported that these terrorist organizations had obtained almost $2 million in bitcoins. The inquiry was, however, expanded, and Hamas was included in the US Justice Department’s assumptions.
Israel and Western nations consider Hamas to be a terrorist organization because it took Gaza with competing for Palestinian forces in 2007 and waged four wars with Israel.