US sanctions Italian ‘sham charity’ funneling money to Hamas

The Harris-Biden administration slapped sanctions Monday on a “sham charity” and network of fundraisers that claimed to raise money for Gaza civilians while actually funneling proceeds to Hamas.

The Treasury Department said in a statement it had sanctioned the Italy-based charity Association of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, along with three individuals and a Gaza bank.

“These actors play critical roles in external fundraising for Hamas, often under the guise of charitable work, that finance the group’s terrorist activities,” it said.

The Treasury noted that while the group “ostensibly raises funds for humanitarian purposes … in reality [it] helps bankroll Hamas’s military wing.”

Also sanctioned were the group’s founder Mohammad Hannoun, who the US claimed has “sent money to Hamas-controlled organizations since at least 2018″ and “sent at least $4 million to Hamas over a 10-year period.”

In total, the Treasury suggested, Hamas “may have received as much as $10 million a month” through donations to organizations that nominally claim to support humanitarian efforts.

“Hamas has exploited the suffering in Gaza to solicit funds through sham and front charities that falsely claim to help civilians in Gaza,” the Treasury said, “Hamas affiliates raise funds through sham or front charities and also seek to garner public support for the group.”

Also sanctioned Monday were Majed al-Zeer, a senior Hamas representative in Germany, and Adel Doughman, who is “in charge of Hamas activity in Austria.”

The US intelligence community for months has been warning of covert actors behind pro-Palestinian groups.

In July, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines warned that Iran may be even be funding pro-Palestine protests in the US.

“As we mark one year since Hamas’s brutal terrorist attack, Treasury will continue relentlessly degrading the ability of Hamas and other destabilizing Iranian proxies to finance their operations and carry out additional violent acts,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in the statement.

“The Treasury Department will use all available tools at our disposal to hold Hamas and its enablers accountable, including those who seek to exploit the situation to secure additional sources of revenue.”