Amid ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict, Binance collaborates with Israel to freeze Hamas accounts in a bid to cut off its funding.

After the radical Palestinian organization Hamas attacked Israel over the weekend, Israel unprecedentedly mobilized 300,000 troops and vowed to "completely blockade," escalating into a full-scale war. In order to cut off its funding, Israeli authorities have collaborated with the cryptocurrency exchange Binance to freeze cryptocurrency accounts associated with the radical Palestinian organization Hamas.

Binance Collaborates with Israel to Freeze Hamas-Related Accounts

According to a report cited by CoinDesk from local media, Israeli police's Lahav 433 cyber unit, in collaboration with the country's defense department, intelligence agencies, and cryptocurrency exchange Binance, have frozen cryptocurrency accounts linked to the Palestinian militant group Hamas, with the seized funds flowing into the Israeli treasury.

Since 2021, Israeli authorities have reportedly sealed approximately 190 Binance accounts suspected of having ties to terrorist organizations. In June, Binance stated that it had previously partnered with Israeli authorities to freeze "terrorism financing activities related to the Iranian Quds Force and Hezbollah."

A Binance spokesperson stated:

Over the past few days, our team has been working around the clock to support efforts to combat terrorism financing. We are committed to ensuring the security of the blockchain ecosystem and the global community.

Hamas Receives $41 Million in Cryptocurrency Since 2021

According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, in the year leading up to recent attacks, three militant groups - Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and their Lebanese ally Hezbollah - acquired substantial funds through cryptocurrency.

All three of these groups have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S. government and are subject to sanctions by the U.S. Treasury, restricting their access to the international banking system. Individuals found engaging in transactions with these organizations face the risk of criminal prosecution and personal sanctions.

Analysis by the cryptocurrency research firm Elliptic revealed that from August 2021 to June of this year, digital currency wallets associated with PIJ received up to $93 million in cryptocurrency. Another report by the research firm BitOK indicated that wallets linked to Hamas received around $41 million during the same period.

It is currently unclear whether the received cryptocurrency was directly used to fund attacks. However, cryptocurrency enables users to instantly transfer tokens between digital wallets without the need for traditional banking services, with these wallets usually held on cryptocurrency exchanges. In a report last year, the U.S. Treasury Department highlighted vulnerabilities in such cryptocurrency exchanges in terms of financial crime control, which could potentially be exploited by terrorist organizations, noting that both ISIS and Al-Qaeda have also received cryptocurrency donations.