Shin Bet busts Hamas scheme pumping €150K to West Bank university
Following wave of arrests of Hamas members in Ramallah, security services discover thousands of euros intended to stage terror activities were funnelled to head of Hamas-affiliated student group at Bir Zeit University; money was transferred by terrorist released as part of Shalit deal.
On 7 March 2018, undercover Border Police officers, as part of a joint operation with the police and the IDF, staged a dramatic arrest of Hamas member Omar Kiswani at Bir Zeit University.
Kiswani, a 24-year-old resident of Beit Iksa, who served as the chairman of the student council on behalf of a Hamas-affiliated student group, was questioned by the Shin Bet.
The investigation revealed that Kiswani was in contact with Hamas member Yassin Rabia, who had been expelled to the Gaza Strip as part of the Gilad Shalit deal, which saw the release of the IDF soldier who was held in captivity by Hamas between 2006 and 2011 in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian terrorists.
Kiswani was also in contact with Hamas members in Turkey, and had sought funds to advance Hamas activity at Bir Zeit University.
According to a Shin Bet statement, Rabia subsequently transferred to Kiswani approximately 150,000 euros, which it said were concealed in several locations throughout the West Bank.
Kiswani, it adds, collected the money along with his friend and fellow Hamas student association member, 20-year-old Yahya Alawi. The two used the funds to promote Hamas activities.
“The foregoing is yet another example of efforts by Hamas commanders in Turkey and the Gaza Strip to advance Hamas activities in Judea and Samaria by bringing in money and hiding it in various locales in order to fund its local infrastructures,” the Shin Bet statement said.
“The investigation points to the deep involvement of Hamas members in Turkey and the Gaza Strip in efforts to advance Hamas activities in Judea and Samaria,” it continued.
According to the Shin Bet, the exposure of Kiswani and Alawi further reflects the high degree of importance the Hamas command attaches to student activities in its affiliated groups in its efforts to recruit and train members in the West Bank.
“The case also underscores the great danger involved in such activity and its status as a significant additional arm of Hamas, the goal of which is to harm the State of Israel, despite its taking place at an institution of higher learning,” the statement noted.
In 2017 a Gaza Strip-based Hamas cell was uncovered which had recruited Bir Zeit University students to carry out suicide attacks.
Additional Hamas student group members have recently been discovered as having sought to commit shooting attacks in the Ramallah area.
