Abbas wages financial war with Hamas

Bethlehem – Ma'an – The Palestinian caretaker government in Ramallah is preparing to wage a "financial war" on its rival de facto Hamas government in the Gaza Strip to force them to retract June's military coup, Arab media outlets reported on Wednesday.
(Ma'anImages)
Bethlehem – Ma'an – The Palestinian caretaker government in Ramallah is preparing to wage a "financial war" on its rival de facto Hamas government in the Gaza Strip to force them to retract June's military coup, Arab media outlets reported on Wednesday.They have adopted a series of measures to stop the flow of funding reaching Hamas' coffers and new laws have been ratified to "fight money laundering." According to the London-based Al-Hayat daily newspaper, the Palestinian financial ministry, the Security Exchange and the Interior Ministry, say that Hamas receives financial aid from abroad via four channels.The first channel is through commercial companies and currency exchanges. The owners of these companies and currency exchanges receive huge amounts of money abroad and deliver that money to Hamas dignitaries in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The companies make up to 20% profit on the deliveries.The second channel is through underground tunnels between then Gaza Strip and Egypt which Palestinian officials say is the main route for cash flowing into Hamas coffers after official transaction routes were blocked.The third channel is through charities, especially the so-called "alms giving committees." These committees receive huge amounts of money from Arab countries, particularly the Gulf States, which then distribute money to Hamas institutions.The fourth channel was the delivery of cash bags through the Rafah crossing, although this route has not been used since the crossing was closed in June. The Ramallah-based government is being cautious policy in the playing out of this financial "war" against Hamas. "Hamas has become a hostile organization to the Palestinian Authority after they used armed militias to undertake a military coup against the Palestinian Authority, claiming that they are resisting occupation," said Sadi Al-Krunz, Secretary General of the Palestinian Cabinet.Hamas said that the campaign to squeeze them financially will fail. A Hamas official said, " If Israel and the United States failed to follow Hamas financial routes, will Fayyad's government succeed?"He added that there are "a million ways and means of bringing money to Hamas."