Senator Elizabeth Warren of the United States believes cryptocurrencies play a significant role in the ongoing military and political conflict between Israel and Palestine.
The conflict has lasted for many years, but a massive massacre occurred last week after Hamas launched multiple devastating attacks from Gaza into Israel.
This was one of the most severe escalations of the conflict since it began many years ago. Many individuals have wondered where the funds for the “surprise” operation came from.
There is considerable speculation that the funding is primarily dependent on digital assets. Upon investigation of Israeli government seizure orders and blockchain analytics reports, it was discovered that some military organizations, including Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah, Palestine’s Lebanese ally, have received enormous outflows of funds.
Between August 2021 and June of this year, a crypto wallet associated with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) reportedly received up to $93 million in cryptocurrency.
There was also a fraudulent transfer of approximately Rs 30 lakhs worth of Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) from an Indian crypto wallet to wallets belonging to the Al-Qassam Brigades.
Notably, the Al-Qassam Brigades is Hamas’s military wing. During the investigation, Israel’s National Bureau for Countering Terrorist Financing confiscated the wallets, one of which belonged to Mohammad Naseer Ibrahim Abdulla.
Policymakers, including Senate Banking Chair Sherrod Brown and Senator Elizabeth Warren, are attempting to delineate crypto’s role in the Israeli-Palestinian attacks with all these transactions.
Senator Elizabeth Warren Urges Crypto Regulator
In light of these digital asset conflicts, Senator Warren will likely intensify her efforts to pass a measure that combats money laundering and terrorism financing by regulating the cryptocurrency market.
In an interview, she stated, “The threat of crypto-financed terrorism is real and should be Congress’s top priority.” A growing bipartisan coalition of senators is committed to passing this measure and combating global terrorism by cutting off its funding.”
