Report: South African bank network deeply involved in funding Hamas

The Jerusalem Post has uncovered a South African network involving major banks and organizations that are deeply involved in funding the terrorist organization Hamas.

At the center of the network is the Al-Quds International Foundation, a Hamas-affiliated organization established in 2001 in the Lebanese capital of Beirut.

The U.S. Treasury Department outlawed the foundation in 2012, due to it “being controlled by and acting on behalf of Hamas.” Israel followed suit and outlawed the Hamas-affiliated foundation for financing terrorism.

Several high-ranking Hamas terrorists, including Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT) Osama Hamdan and Abu Marzook, have served on the the Al-Quds Board of Trustees, further underlining the strong Hamas connections.

Despite U.S. and Israeli sanctions, the foundation has been able to raise global funds on behalf of Hamas. Because of the South African government’s pro-Hamas position, the Al-Quds International Foundation has been able to provide funds for Hamas using registered accounts in the leading South African banks Nedbank Standard Bank and Absa.

The pro-Hamas network includes strawman companies that have provided a convenient front for whitewashing money on behalf of Hamas, according to the Jerusalem Post report.

The foundation itself is part of a wider global Muslim Brotherhood network, which, until recently, was headed by a leading Sunni-Muslim scholar, Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi.

Al-Qaradawi previously made headlines for endorsing suicide bombings against Israel and the Jewish community. The foundation is currently led by Sheikh Hamid bin Abdullah Al-Ahmar, a radical Yemeni businessman based in Turkey.

Relations between South Africa and Israel are tense after the South African government has made claims that Israel’s defensive war against Hamas’ aggression is equivalent to “genocide” of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The United States has firmly rejected the South African charges of “genocide” presented at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.

“Genocide is one of the most heinous atrocities that any individual can commit. Those are allegations that should not be made lightly ... we are not seeing any acts that constitute genocide,” U.S. State Department Spokesman Matt Miller stated.

The Jewish state has condemned South Africa for its legal incitement against Jerusalem. Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi described the South African accusation as a “blood libel.”

Germany, one of Israel's strongest allies in the European Union, recently announced that it would defend Israel against the false “genocide” charges. The German government emphasized that Israel is acting in self-defense against the terrorist organization Hamas, which openly calls for the destruction of Israel and Jewish people worldwide.

“On October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists brutally attacked, tortured, killed and kidnapped innocent people in Israel,” Berlin said in its official statement. “Hamas's goal is to wipe out Israel. Since then, Israel has been defending itself against the inhumane attack by Hamas.”