[Washington Institute for Near East Policy] Matthew Levitt - Hamas' international financial support network suffered a series of recent setbacks, most notably the U.S. federal court conviction of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development and five of its leaders on charges of providing material support to Hamas. Yet the group is still able to raise substantial funds. As the governing party in Gaza, Hamas has access to new sources of funding, including taxes and customs fees. Furthermore, foreign donations account for most of Hamas' revenue, primarily from Iran and Qatar. To disrupt Hamas financing further, the U.S. and the international community together must continue to crack down on the group's fraudulent fundraising and press Egypt to do more to shut the smuggling tunnels that funnel funds and goods to Hamas in Gaza. The writer is director of the Stein Program on Counterterrorism at The Washington Institute.
2008-12-05 08:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive