Israeli forces have attacked five money exchange offices in the West Bank and confiscated $2.8 million, accusing them of transferring money to the Palestinian resistance movements Hamas and the Islamic Jihad in Gaza.
According to the Israeli Army Radio, around 10 million shekels ($2.8m) were seized by the Israeli forces in raids against nine shops in Ramallah, Jenin and Hebron on Thursday.
The shops are branches of five money exchange offices in the West Bank which Israeli war minister, Yoav Gallant, designated as “terror organizations” for allegedly transferring funds to Hamas and the Islamic Jihad.
In a post on social media platform X, the Israeli army shared a video of raiding a money exchange shop in the occupied West Bank and drilling into a safe there to confiscate funds.
The regime forces also confiscated documents, telephones and recording devices, and safes.
יחידת הסייבר בלהב 433 פתחה בחקירה משותפת עם צה״ל ופקמ״ז, הרשות לאיסור הלבנת הון ומימון טרור, שב״כ, מט״ל, מג״ב ורשות המיסים, נגד חשודים תושבי איו”ש בחשד כי הם מעורבים במימון החמאס, בכספים דיגיטליים ומזומנים במסגרת פעילותם כנותני שירותים פיננסיים>> pic.twitter.com/ge4wsY7a9t
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) December 28, 2023
Twenty-one people were also kidnapped by Israeli forces overnight in the West Bank in connection with the alleged money transfer.
United Nations human rights chief, Volker Turk, warned in a recent report that the human rights situation in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem is rapidly deteriorating and urged Israel to “end unlawful killings” against the Palestinian population.
“The use of military tactics and weapons in law enforcement contexts, the use of unnecessary or disproportionate force, and the enforcement of broad, arbitrary and discriminatory movement restrictions that affect Palestinians are extremely troubling,” he said in a statement.
Violence has flared across the occupied West Bank, with more than 310 Palestinians killed by Israeli troops or settlers since October 7, when the occupying regime launched a war against Gaza.
In the past few days, Israeli strikes have reportedly killed dozens of people in several refugee camps across the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Six Palestinians were killed in an Israeli operation in a refugee camp in the northern West Bank on Wednesday.
