Question Who Provides Hamas With Money

Reports indicate that Hamas receives its largest funding from the Muslim Brotherhood, which some see as an extension of the Brotherhood in Gaza. Some reports and the media consider Hamas “the spoiled son of the group.” Hamas also receives support from Islamic charities in Europe, which collect donations for the movement.In 2006 Hamas was on another date of responsibility. New burdens were added to it after winning the elections, but with responsibility it managed to obtain other resources. According to one report, Hamas received funding from four sources:

1. Taxes and fees paid by citizens for services, in addition to tariffs.
2 — Return of agricultural production in some evacuated settlements.
3 — Waiver of some employees from their salaries.
4 — Arab and Islamic institutions donating to the government.

During the celebration of Hamas anniversary last week, Abu Ubaida, spokesman for the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the movement, said that the movement receives support from personalities, institutions and countries. He thanked Iran for supporting Hamas with money and weapons, as well as supporting Arab and Islamic countries, , According to Abu Ubaida.According to reports, Turkey and Qatar began supplying Hamas with money after the Arab Spring revolutions, albeit irregularly.Tunnels between Egypt and the Gaza Strip formed a source of income for the Hamas government. On a trip by Egyptian journalist Mohamed Aboul Gheit to Gaza through one of these tunnels in Rafah, he monitored the measures taken by the government to regulate the crossing of individuals and the tariffs for transporting goods through tunnels.

Does this mean that the movement receives donations and only spends them?
This is not true, according to a London-based Asharq Al-Awsat report. Hamas operates its money in the market. Its businessmen evaluate various projects and have large shops and businesses. For example, they have consumer associations, car shows, furniture, electrical appliances and shops. Computers, and factories, spread throughout the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

States finance Hamas, and countries pursuing their money!
It seems that this influx of funds did not appeal to the Israeli government, the US administration, or even the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, and the three of them followed Hamas’ bank assets in their own way.

Former US President George W. Bush announced in 2004 the freezing of assets of the Holy Land Foundation, Al-Aqsa International Bank and Al-Mal Investment Group. Bush explained the decision, saying the three groups were directly linked to Hamas and that the funds collected by the Holy Land Foundation were used by Hamas to recruit children and train suicide bombers.In 2008, the Israeli army pursued bankruptcies in the West Bank, calling it a “personal suit” to track bankruptcies in the West Bank and confiscating amounts of up to 3 million shekels, saying it revealed documents confirming the arrival of funds from organizations outside the country to the account of an Arab banker, Palestinian bankers, without the control of the Palestinian Authority. President Mahmoud Abbas has repeatedly stated that he will not hesitate in the issue of “money laundering”, stressing that they have a lot of detainees who have worked in money laundering.

A US court in Dallas in 2009 sentenced five of the heads of America’s largest Muslim charity to long prison terms after being convicted of transferring millions of dollars to Hamas. European countries have seen similar measures.

Hamas changed the way its money was transferred. It began to transfer the money to the “bag” which was handed over hand in hand and smuggled it through the tunnels in addition to other methods.

Can we then know exactly how much money Hamas gets?
The sources that talk about the Hamas budget rely on media reports, and we have not reached official figures. Here are examples of these numbers.

The journalist Mohamed Aboul Gheit monitored the fees for the passage of goods from the tunnels in 2013, and detailed them as follows:

While the Hamas monopolizes the smuggling of fuel through the tunnels, it received a liter of diesel from Egypt for less than 75 piasters to be sold in Gaza for 3.1 NIS, or about four and a half Egyptian Pound.

The Washington Institute of Studies also published an article by one of its researchers stating that the income generated by 800 tunnels between Gaza and Egypt reached a peak of nearly $ 600 to $ 850 million a year.

Israeli military intelligence estimates that Iran’s total aid to Hamas amounts to nearly $ 100 million a year.

While Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas estimates that Iran’s aid to Hamas is close to $ 250 million to $ 500 million, the researcher says that most of the Iranian funds are channeled to the Hamas political bureau in Damascus for weapons and shipments.

The Israeli Shin Bet estimates the Hamas budget for 2010 as follows:
Million annually to cover government expenditures.

– $ 50 million annually for the movement’s civilian activities.

$ 40 million a year for the military wing.

To Iran again?
In the meantime, when the siege was imposed on Hamas again, the movement was seeking to restore relations with Iran to normal, AFP quoted a senior Hamas leader as saying that the movement held important meetings with Iran and Hezbollah to resolve the differences that resulted from the Syrian crisis.

During this month, a Hamas delegation comprising Maher Obeid, Jamal Issa, Osama Hamdan and Khaled Qaddumi went to the Iranian capital of Tehran for an official visit to discuss with officials about the situation in Gaza after the war with the Zionist entity in June 2014 and the recent attacks on Al Aqsa Mosque. After the visit, Osama Hamdan stressed that relations “have become better and better than many imagine after passing through what happened between friends and allies in the past.”

While Abu Ubaida, spokesman for the Qassam Brigades thanked Iran for its military and financial support in the same week. It is expected that the head of the Hamas political bureau Khaled Meshaal to Tehran soon, but according to press statements to the Foreign Relations Officer will not announce the date of the visit in advance for security precautions.

With the return of Iranian support, Hamas is on its way to overcoming the funding crisis and providing sources of funding for its military and community activities after it has taken over the responsibility of the government and has a problem with its delivery to Gaza after the destruction of tunnels between it and Egypt.