JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Israel Security Agency uncovered a money laundering scheme that transferred funds to Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank from Turkey via Hebron.

The fund transfers, which began in 2016, provided more than $210 million to Hamas in the West Bank and Gaza, according to the Israel Security Agency, also known as the Shabak or Shin Bet security service.

The Israel Security Agency, or ISA, made the announcement on Thursday.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The IDF military prosecutor is due to file indictments against those involved soon, according to the ISA.

Five Hamas members from the West Bank have been arrested in the investigation and an operative each in Gaza and Turkey have been identified.

The head of the operation was identified by the ISA as Muhammad Maher Bader, a senior Hamas activist in Hebron and member of the Palestinian Authority’s Legislative Council; he was arrested in June. He hired couriers from the West Bank who traveled to Turkey under the guise as businessmen and took the tens of thousands of dollars given to them to buy goods and ship them by international courier to Hebron, where they were sold and the funds given to Hamas terrrorists in Hebron, minus fees, according to the ISA.

The money went to pay Hamas terrorists released from prison and there also were plans to build a cement factory with millions of dollars in Hamas financing that would serve as a front for additional money laundering.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount