Armed groups steal 66 million euros from the coffers of the Bank of Palestine

The Bank of Palestine denounces the theft of 66 million euros from its coffers and the Israeli army’s detention of “tens of millions” to prevent them from reaching the hands of Hamas.

During April, Palestinian armed groups, believed to have links to Hamas, stole approximately €66 million from the Bank of Palestine in Gaza. The complaint was submitted by the banking entity itself and published by the French newspaper Le Monde.

The robberies allegedly occurred in several branches spread across the Palestinian Strip, and were described in a document sent by the Bank of Palestine to some international partners that included details about the crimes.

On April 16, employees found a hole in the ceiling of one of the branch’s safety deposit boxes. Only in this robbery did the suspects gain access to an ATM containing the equivalent of 2.8 million euros in Israeli shekels.

At the same time, in order to prevent the funds from falling into the “hands” of Hamas, the Israeli army confiscated a large amount of funds belonging to the bank. Bank of Palestine officials are now awaiting the completion of the Israeli administrative process to return the funds. According to the Israeli press, the confiscated amounts amount to tens of millions of euros.

The Bank of Palestine, founded in 1960, is the main financial institution in Gaza. It is one of the main sources of money for the Palestinian population. The Palestine Monetary Authority, which is responsible for supervising the financial system in the Palestinian territories, indicated that it would issue a statement in this regard next Saturday, when contacted by Agence France-Presse.

There are currently only two operating ATMs, both in the south, in Rafah and Deir El Bala. The entity continues to operate due to a secret banknote transfer in November 2023, benefiting from the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, which is worth about 45 million euros in Israeli shekels, although tens of millions of euros remain in other areas.

On April 22, the Palestine Monetary Authority expressed its regret that “repeated attacks on bank branches and ATMs threaten the activity of these branches and their ability to pay employees’ salaries and disburse money to their owners.”