US imposes sanctions on senior Hamas officials, 3 of whom are based in Turkey
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated six senior Hamas officials, including the terrorist group’s representatives abroad, a senior member of the Hamas military wing, the Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, as well as individuals involved in supporting the terrorist group’s fundraising efforts and weapons smuggling into Gaza.
“Hamas continues to rely on key officials who seemingly maintain legitimate, public-facing roles within the group, yet who facilitate their terrorist activities, represent their interests abroad, and coordinate the transfer of money and goods into Gaza,” said Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith. “Treasury remains committed to disrupting Hamas’s efforts to secure additional revenue and holding those who facilitate the group’s terrorist activities to account.”
Details about the three Hamas officials based in Turkey were listed as follows:
Abd al-Rahman Ismail abd al-Rahman Ghanimat, a longtime member of Hamas’s military wing, the Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades. Currently based in Turkey, Ghanimat, who also founded a section of Hamas responsible for supporting Hamas interests in the West Bank, has been involved in multiple attempted and successful terrorist attacks, including the 1997 daytime bombing of a café in Tel Aviv.
Musa Daud Muhammad Akari is a senior Hamas official based in Turkey who facilitates the flow of funds from Türkiye into Gaza and the West Bank for Hamas. Akari was previously convicted of kidnapping and murdering an Israeli border police officer.
Salama Mari is a Hamas official based in Turkey involved in financial facilitation for the group. Mari was previously imprisoned for his role in a 1993 attack in the West Bank that killed an Israeli soldier.
The other sanctioned Hamas officials include Mohammad Nazzal, Basem Naim and Ghazi Hamad (Hamad).
The U.S. on Monday warned Turkey against hosting members of Hamas’ leadership, after reports emerged that several senior members of Hamas left Qatar for Ankara last week.
Asked about the media reports that some Hamas leaders had moved to Turkey from Qatar, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller did not confirm the reports but said he was not in a position to dispute them.
“We don’t believe the leaders of a vicious terrorist organization should be living comfortably anywhere, and that certainly includes in a major city of one of our key allies and partners,” he said.
Miller added: “We will make clear to the Government of Turkey, as we have made clear to every country in the world, that there can be no more business as usual with Hamas.”
Source » anfenglish.com
