The European Union has intensified its measures against Hamas by adding six individuals to its asset freeze and visa ban blacklist. This action comes in response to the group’s involvement in financing the Palestinian militant movement.
Among those sanctioned is Musa Dudin, a senior member of Hamas’s investment office. The list also includes financiers based in Sudan, Lebanon, and Algeria. A high-ranking EU official stated, “We are listing six people that have been participating in financing or facilitating the finance of Hamas. They will get their assets frozen in the European Union and they will get a travel ban to enter our territory.”
This move follows Hamas’s unexpected attack on Israel on October 7, which resulted in the death of approximately 1,140 civilians, as per an AFP tally based on official data. During these attacks, militants took around 250 hostages, with about 132 still believed to be in Gaza.
In retaliation, Israel has initiated a rigorous air and ground offensive against Hamas, resulting in the deaths of at least 24,762 Palestinians, with about 70 percent being women, children, and adolescents, according to the Hamas-run health ministry’s statistics.
Earlier this week, the EU added Hamas’s Gaza political chief Yahya Sinwar to its “terrorist” blacklist. Hamas has been designated as a “terrorist” organization by the EU for some time.
These sanctions targeting individuals financing Hamas precede a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels. The ministers are scheduled to hold discussions with representatives from Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
In addition, EU countries are reportedly preparing sanctions against “extremist” Israeli settlers in the West Bank, as indicated by diplomatic sources.
