“The people of Gaza are poor, but Hamas is rich” – Economy

Until 2015, Udi Levi, 60, worked for Israeli secret services for a total of 35 years. From 2001 onwards, he headed a special unit called Mossad Harpoon – an unusual team with experts from the secret service, tax authorities, central bank and police. They stopped funding the terrorist organizations Hamas and Hezbollah were largely dry, but in 2014 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu undermined the work of the specialists: He allowed Qatar to send money to Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Levi calls this “the worst political decision in Israeli history.” He also criticizes the lack of will in Germany to seriously combat terrorist financing. Today Levi advises states and companies on combating financial crime. The SZ reaches Levi via teams in Tel Aviv.

SZ: Mr. Levi, Hamas has built a tunnel system hundreds of kilometers long in the Gaza Strip and is taking action Israel with rockets. How does the terrorist organization finance all of this?

Udi Levi: After its founding in 1987, Hamas initially received a lot of support from Saudi Arabia and charities. Since September 11, 2001, the money has come primarily from Qatar, Iran, Turkey and more recently from Malaysia, Indonesia and even Australia. The money flows partly through the banking system, but because that has become more difficult, also through cryptocurrencies.

How much money does Hamas have?

In the Gaza Strip alone they currently have around $2.5 billion. That’s an incredible amount when you compare it to the average monthly salary of $400 there. What useful things could be done with it. I’ve been studying the financing of Hamas for thirty years, but only now, after October 7, have we gotten a rough idea of ​​how much money they really have. Hamas in Gaza has been bred into a monster. The people of Gaza are poor, but Hamas is rich.

The US has been sanctioning Iran for many years because of its nuclear program. That wasn’t enough?

No, despite the sanctions, Iran is still one of Hamas’ main financial backers Hezbollah, the Houthis and radical groups in Iraq. It is a big mistake of the western world that we don’t stop this.

You were head of the Mossad special unit Harpoon until 2015. They should dry up sources of money for terrorists. It was a successful job. How did that happen?

Harpoon’s work began in 2001 at the behest of Ariel Sharon. It was clear to the former Prime Minister that terrorists had to be cut off from their money supply. We pooled all our competencies: tax authorities, customs, secret service, foreign ministry, central bank – everyone who knew something about the money trail was there. That was unique in the world. At first there was a problem with cooperation because the authorities had different cultures and working rules. But it ended up working incredibly well. We were able to largely close Hamas and Hezbollah’s money channels from Iran.

Israel allowed this to happen for many years afterwards Qatar finances Hamas in Gaza.

That’s correct. From 2001 onwards, I and my team at Mossad were responsible for stopping terrorist financing from Qatar and Iran. Then in 2014, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided that Israel would allow certain Qatari funds to pass through to the Gaza Strip. It was the worst political decision in Israeli history. I warned Netanyahu at the time not to do this because we knew that after that no one would cooperate with us in the fight against Hamas’s terrorist financing. And in fact, Americans and Europeans rightly said afterwards: If you yourself wave the money through from Qatar, why should we help you? Our secret service then also put the fight against terrorist financing on the back burner.

Why did Netanyahu do this?

Did he want to strengthen Hamas in order to weaken the Palestinian Authority? I don’t know it. One thing is certain: we have allowed Hamas to develop into a monster. We have to realize that if we want to change the balance in the Middle East, we cannot do it through military means. We must stop Hamas’ financial flows. Only this will prevent Hamas leaders from further mobilizing their supporters in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Is it still possible to stop these financial flows?

It is very difficult, especially when it comes to donations. Their use needs to be controlled much more closely. But it would be important if Western banks were really careful with their financial flows, as there are still major weaknesses.

Which?

The crypto market is hardly regulated, so you have to pay more attention. Banks are noticeably lax in their approach to the problem. In general, the financial sector continues to see weaknesses when it comes to combating Money launderingunfortunately also at Deutsche Bank.

The terrorists also profit from the drug trade?

Hezbollah works with South American drug cartels. The money is distributed in Lebanon, and Iran and Syria have also started producing drugs. These regimes earn $30 billion a year from trading Captagon.

What needs to be done?

On the one hand, the Americans should do a better job of enforcing their own sanctions. Law enforcement authorities in Western countries would also have to freeze assets more frequently if the owners cannot explain their origin. Last but not least, Turkish banks in particular should be monitored much more closely and, in an emergency, excluded from the Swift payment system if they are caught financing terrorist groups.

These would be tough measures against NATO member Türkiye.

We must understand that the same money that goes to Hamas today can also be used to carry out terrorist attacks in Europe. Now the world is looking at Israel and Hamas. But don’t be surprised if there are also attacks in Germany, which of course I hope not. We urgently need to stop the flow of money. It is a catastrophe that Turkey and Qatar are allowed to continue supporting Hamas. Therefore, all Western countries should now jointly put pressure on Turkey and Qatar.

The EU and the UN have provided billions in aid to the Gaza Strip. Can you be sure that the money is not used to finance terrorism?

The UN organization for Palestinian refugees UNRWA is being massively abused by Hamas, and we have plenty of evidence of this. To this day, aid to the Gaza Strip goes through two organizations from Qatar and Turkey that we have classified as terrorist organizations in Israel. We are observing that Hamas in the Gaza Strip is selling the aid supplies at high prices to the already poor population. Of course you have to help the Palestinians, but not like that. Hamas has 30,000 people in its military organization, everyone receives a salary of $1,000 every month, which is $30 million a month. Hamas shouldn’t have that much money.

The Emirate of Qatar has taken on the role of mediator in the release of Israeli hostages and denies that it directly supports terror. What do you think of it?

The world only looks at this mediator role. Europe and the USA should demand from Qatar: stop financial support for radicals! Qatar has been funding international terrorist groups for more than 20 years, endangering not only Israel but the entire world. There is numerous evidence and evidence of this, for example from witness statements in court cases against Qatar. But the West is doing nothing. We allowed ourselves to be corrupted. Politicians and lobbyists are on the emirate’s payroll. Even in Israel, my impression is that there are people in positions of power who, let’s say, have special ties to Qatar and protect the emirate.

What could the West do?

The free world must finally make a credible threat: If you don’t stop financing the terrorists, we will take extreme measures against you.

Germany needs the gas from Qatar.

That’s true, and these dependencies must be taken into account when making decisions. On the one hand, it is about the question of security of supply, and on the other hand, it is about national security. The terror is not limited to the Middle East; the seeds of extremists have been sown – in mosques and Islamic centers in Germany. I hope that the German public makes an informed decision.

Isn’t it already too late? Qatar has invested a lot of money in German companies.

Qatar is very concerned about having a good reputation in the world. The emirate knows full well that if the Western world takes sanctions against small Qatar, it will have big problems. A serious debate in the Bundestag about Qatar’s role in supporting Hamas could build up a lot of pressure. The West must put the gun on the table. It’s about the survival of democracy.

How did the cooperation with Germany go in the hunt for terrorist funds?

Not good. In Germany, Hezbollah and Hamas were able to collect money unhindered for far too long. Other European countries also failed to recognize that donations were not used for humanitarian purposes but for weapons for terrorists.

Was the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) able to help you?

I have often tried to convince the Federal Intelligence Service to take action against the illicit activities of Iran, Qatar and Hezbollah – but have not been successful. It always looked to me as if the BND was subject to political restrictions in dealing with these actors.

Hezbollah and Hamas are now no longer allowed to operate in Germany.

But so far I don’t have the impression that Germany is seriously undermining the terrorists’ corporate networks and assets. Iran may also be trying to use Germany as a place to circumvent international sanctions. And I have my doubts that all German banks are taking the necessary security precautions to prevent this. Take the Varengold Bank in Hamburg. Bafin first had to take action here and remind the bank to comply with its obligations. The reason was the bank’s business dealings with Iran. Israeli authorities had also repeatedly pointed out this risk to Bafin.