🛑 Action against Hamas:
Israel has halted cryptocurrency accounts believed to be used by the Palestinian group Hamas for gathering donations via social media.
💥 Recent Conflict:
Hamas initiated severe attacks from Gaza into Israel last Saturday, marking a significant escalation in the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
💻 Hamas' Fundraising Efforts:
During the onset of the conflict, Hamas allegedly began a fundraising drive on social platforms, encouraging people to contribute cryptocurrencies, as per a police statement.
🚫 Immediate Response:
The Police Cyber Unit, in collaboration with the Ministry of Defense and the Binance crypto exchange, acted swiftly to identify and freeze these accounts. The intention is to redirect the seized funds to the state's treasury.
🔍 Details Unclear:
The official statement did not provide specifics about the number of accounts frozen or the exact amount of cryptocurrency confiscated.
📢 Binance's Stance:
Binance emphasized its dedication to combatting terror financing. They've been working tirelessly to support these efforts and frequently collaborate with global law enforcement agencies and regulators. The data Binance utilizes to identify individuals and structures tied to specific organizations is primarily sourced from law enforcement intelligence.
🔄 Hamas and Cryptocurrency:
For years, Hamas had promoted the use of crypto for fundraising. However, in April, they declared they would cease accepting donations via Bitcoin and start using Monero due to a surge in adversarial actions against their donors.
📰 Past Incidents:
In May, Reuters reported that since 2021, around 190 cryptocurrency accounts on Binance were confiscated by Israel. Among these, two were allegedly associated with Islamic State, and numerous others were purportedly linked to Palestinian companies connected to Hamas.
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