Hamas Operation Found in Eastern Jerusalem, Four Arrested
A Hamas military drill in the Gaza Strip in March 2018. Photo: Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa.
i24 News – Israel’s Police and Shin Bet announced on Friday that four residents of east Jerusalem were indicted over alleged ties to Hamas, prosecutors alleging that some were planning attacks.
Three of the suspects, a family from Sur Baher, were detained immediately after entering Israel in February.
The fourth suspect, who lives in Beit Hanina, was arrested with $155,000 in cash, vehicles, and had other assets seized. Along with this, a bank account belonging to a charitable organization was frozen.
Lajnat Zakat al-Quds, a charity with offices in the Temple Mount complex, was accused of funneling money for Hamas.
One of the accused, Khaled Sabah, was appointed in 2019 by senior Hamas officials in Turkey as the group’s treasurer, the indictment stated, according to The Times of Israel.
He was accused of assisting in transferring Hamas funds from Turkey to Jerusalem, distributing them to Hamas operatives and their families, disguising it as charity.
Much of the funding from the charity went to families of Hamas members killed while committing terror attacks, prosecutors charged. In contrast, the charity advertised itself as assisting orphans, according to ToI.
Lajnat Zakat al-Quds has a total income of nearly $8.6 million between 2007 and 2020, the indictment stated.
Sabah traveled to Turkey in late January to meet with Hamas officials, discussing the group’s preparations for Ramadan, in case of clashes with Israeli forces.
“During the meeting, the defendant agreed he would purchase a weapon for this purpose, if necessary,” the indictment read, ToI reported.