Israel has said it will begin seizing cryptocurrency accounts used by the Palestinian Hamas group to raise money for its armed wing.
Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz ordered security forces on Thursday to seize the accounts after a joint operation, the ministry said, “uncovered a web of electronic wallets” used by Hamas to raise funds using Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
It added that Hamas has been waging an online campaign to raise donations for its military wing, efforts that accelerated after the 11-day war in Gaza in May this year.
Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are favoured for illicit transactions because they are perceived as hard to trace.
“The intelligence, technological and legal tools that enable us to get our hands on terrorists’ money around the world constitute an operational breakthrough,” Gantz was quoted as saying.
Hamas was democratically elected in 2006 and seized control of the Gaza Strip a year later from rival Palestinian party Fatah after the latter attempted a preemptive coup.
Since then, Israel has waged four major offensives on the besieged enclave, killing thousands of civilians. The latest one took place in May, killing 260 Palestinians, including at least 66 children. On the Israeli side, 13 people were killed, including two children.
A shaky ceasefire, brokered by Egypt, has been violated several times over the past month, with Israeli fighter jets targeting several areas it says belongs to Hamas military sites.
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