Under the title "3 Names and Several Arms: Details About Hamas Funds in Britain and Europe," Al Arabiya reported that British Home Secretary Priti Patel announced yesterday, Friday, that she has made a decision to completely ban the movement "Hamas." The minister confirmed that "Hamas possesses terrorist capabilities, including access to advanced weapons on a wide scale," adding that the government is committed to combating extremism and terrorism wherever they emerge. Britain had previously designated the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades - the military wing of Hamas - in 2001 on its blacklist, without banning the entire entity of Hamas, but is now returning to categorizing the entire movement as a terrorist organization.
The Guardian newspaper previously reported that Hamas supporters could face imprisonment of up to 14 years under the decision announced by Patel. According to information collected by Al Arabiya, Hamas has financial and investment activities in Britain, some in partnership with the Muslim Brotherhood, while others are managed independently by Hamas through its leaders residing there. The information revealed that Hamas aimed to collect as many donations as possible and withdraw funds from the Gulf, the United States, and Britain by creating financial, media, and economic arms, dedicating 3 names and 3 divisions for this purpose.
These include the "General Secretariat and Communications," which operated from London under the leadership of Palestinian Hafez Ajaj al-Karmi, responsible for communications between Western countries and the Muslim Brotherhood inside Egypt, Gaza, and Arab countries, preparing the budget and transferring funds to administrative offices. Accompanying this is the "Planning and Research Division," also based in London, led by Mohammed Kazem Suwalha, a Hamas leader who participated in political activities, propaganda, and financial coordination related to the movement's special activities. He held a membership in the political bureau and served as the legal office manager within the movement, overseeing significant allocations of funds for Hamas activists in Palestine.
The information collected by Al Arabiya revealed that the "Security Division" of Hamas operates from London under the leadership of Maher Jawad Saleh, who tracks opponents of Hamas and gathers information regarding investment systems, as well as engaging in financial transfers and simple economic enterprises. It appears that all economic activities allocated a portion to finance terrorist operations.
In the context of the British decision, Hamas's funds and activities in Britain are set to be frozen, including the "Al Hiwar" channel, an affiliated entity that broadcasts from London, managed by Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood member Azzam Tamimi, in which Hamas holds shares, and British authorities are expected to place it under security monitoring.
Hamas also owns real estate companies in Britain managed by Palestinian Abdulrahman Abu Diyah, who also owns media companies that contribute to funding a portion of Brotherhood-affiliated channels broadcasting from Istanbul and online platforms linked to the Brotherhood in the Netherlands.
It is notable that Hamas contributes to and owns a fund named "Palestine Relief," headquartered in London, known as "Interpal," which collects money from donors to support the Palestinian cause, directing a significant portion of these funds to finance armed operations, either for the movement or the Muslim Brotherhood, overseen by Hamas member Issam Yusuf Salah Mustafa.
Hamas possesses economic entities in Europe as well, including one known as the "Holy Land Foundation," with branches in Europe collecting millions of dollars. It established a fund in France under the name "Charity Committee for Supporting Palestine" as well as the "Al-Aqsa Fund," which has branches in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Denmark, along with the "Sanabel al-Aqsa" foundation in Sweden, the "Isra" Foundation in the Netherlands, two funds in Switzerland named "ASB" and "SHS," a fund in Italy named "ABPBB," and two funds in Austria. The most prominent fund in Arab countries is known as the "Coalition for Good," which was located in Lebanon and received direct support from Iran.
Despite some European governments having banned and frozen some of these funds after observing and monitoring the redirection of their finances to fund Hamas activities rather than supporting the Palestinian cause, the movement has re-established these under new names and new figures to collect more funds from Muslims and Arabs in European countries, investing them for the benefit of the Muslim Brotherhood on one side and financing its armed operations on the other.
