Recent reports suggest that the United States has imposed sanctions on a Hamas finance official and a number of companies that have financially supported the Palestinian group. Washington has also slapped restrictive measures on the Islamic movement's Investment Office which is said to have access to assets which are estimated to be worth more than $500Mln.
For the Sake of Israel?
The recent measures imposed by Joe Biden’s administration came as no surprise to Talal Okal, a Gaza-based political analyst, who says that the White House’s move sits well with the US’ general policy of promoting Israeli interests.
"The US is known for sponsoring Israeli interests in the world. As soon as they receive intelligence that some entities finance or assist Hamas or any other Palestinian faction, Washington imposes sanctions to limit their power and halt any financial or military development."
This is not the first time the White House has resorted to sanctions to punish the group, deemed terrorist by many regional and international players.
In 2015, it slapped sanctions on four Hamas leaders - including the head of the organisation's Turkish headquarters, Saleh al-Arouri - for their alleged involvement in terror activities. Four years later, in 2019, it took similar steps against other members of the movement including the head of their finance office, a top commander of its military arm, Izz Al-Din Al Qassam Brigades, and several other officials.
"What could have dealt a blow to Hamas was the Israeli siege that has been in place for the past 15 years. Another factor that could have weakened Hamas was the four Israeli wars. But they didn't. So these sanctions are unlikely to leave any impact either."
Right after Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in June 2007, Israel imposed a tight blockade on the coastal enclave in a bid to strangle it economically and eventually oust it from power.
Militarily, Israel has conducted four operations against the Gaza Strip militants after they launched an indiscriminate barrage of rockets onto Israeli towns and cities.
The most recent of such operations occurred last May. Back then, Israel attacked more than 1,500 terror targets, including launch sites, command and control centres. The Israeli Defence Force has also destroyed weapons depots and devastated Hamas’ sophisticated tunnel system, also known as the Metro.
However, Okal says, Hamas has only emerged from these hostilities stronger than before, and the reason for this is its diverse sources of income that are unlikely to dwindle in spite of sanctions.
"Hamas never announces its sources of income, neither does it reveal its budget. But we do know that it has diverse and strong financial resources. And this assistance keeps them afloat".
In an interview with Sputnik in February, Ghazi Hamad, an official of Hamas, admitted that his group has been receiving funds from Turkey, Iran and Qatar that granted the Gaza Strip $1Bln between 2012 and 2019. He also acknowledged that the organisation was relying on other sources of income but refused to mention the names of those donors.
"Every single time Israel and the US think they will be able to break or eliminate Hamas, they are disappointed. It is impossible to strangle this organisation, simply because Hamas enjoys wide support - much more than Israel and the US could possibly imagine," Okal concluded.