Hamas, as well as the Palestinian authority, have made money through smuggling, embezzling foreign aid, grants from Iran, Qatar and Turkey, and from phony charities in countries around the world.
Just how far has the grifting advanced? These are 2014 numbers:
Abu Marzouk is one of the major billionaires in Hamas. “Arab estimates peg his fortune at 2-3 billion dollars,” Elad says. Another senior-official-turned-terror-tycoon is Khaled Mashaal, head of Hamas’s political wing. “Global estimates say Mashaal is worth $2.6 billion,” but Arab commentators, with other sources, say he is worth between 2 and 5 billion, “invested in Egyptian banks and Gulf countries, some in real estate projects.”
First Post:
Ismail Haniyeh. In 2010, Haniyeh purchased a plot of land for $4 million on the Gazan beachfront near the Shati refugee camp, which he registered under his son-in-law’s name, The Times of Israel reported citing Egyptian magazine Rose al-Yusuf.
He owns many apartments, villas and buildings in the Gaza Strip, registered under his some of his 13 children’s names. In 2021, a video circulated online showed Haniyeh playing soccer on a trimmed field under the glass skyscrapers of Qatar, as per The Arab Weekly report. Another footage showed him donning a tailored suit, accompanied by bodyguards, and being welcomed by Qatari dignitaries at a red-carpet event, the report added.
JPOST reports that Hamas has five major finding sources that amount to almost $2.5 billion a year.
The UK Daily Mail reports that Hamas has a series of foreign investment accounts they launder money into:
NBC News:
The unemployment rate in Gaza is 47% and more than 80% of its population lives in poverty, according to the United Nations. Hamas, however, has funded an armed force of thousands equipped with rockets and drones and built a vast web of tunnels under Gaza. Estimates of its annual military budget range from $100 million to $350 million, according to Israeli and Palestinian sources.
Globes reports that while Hamas leaders bask in riches, the GDP per capita in Gaza is a fourth that of the West Bank.
Why are we sending so much aid when Hamas has billions and is stealing a sizable portion of international aid meant for citizens? The answer that most likely goes unspoken is because they know much of that aid will be laundered into efforts to kill Jews.
UPDATE - Full Measure News investigates Hamas front group charities:
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