Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Hamas Has a Banking Crisis

Reuters reports:

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The reluctance of banks to risk U.S. sanctions and lawsuits by dealing with a Hamas-led government has pushed the Palestinian Authority to the brink of financial collapse sooner than donors had expected, diplomats said.

The rapid onset of a banking crisis -- within days of Hamas's swearing-in on March 29 -- could further depress Palestinian incomes, fuel political unrest and speed the arrival of a humanitarian crisis with which donors are not yet prepared to cope, according to diplomats and Palestinian officials.

Western diplomats and private-sector experts said Hamas's troubles finding a bank has for now eclipsed Western aid cuts as the biggest immediate threat to the new government's viability.
That is interesting. The Islamics have pretty much shut down Western newspapers through the cartoon jihad. We have eliminated their cash flow (in places) through the money jihad. I'd put it down to lack of strategic thinking on the part of the Islamics.

See also my previous articles on jihadi money flow problems in Follow the Money and Follow the Gold.

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hamas will be forced take a more moderate stand. Both the U.S. and Israel have pulled funding that Palestine depends upon to operate. I like the term "money jihad."

Hamas’ charter calls for Israel to be “obliterated.” Now that the Hamas is in power, they cannot continue to spew the same terrorist rhetoric that they have in the past. They must come to terms with the fact that Israel is not going away, and must mollify Israel in order to restore international funding.

M. Simon said...

Hamas has taken a first stab at it.

If Israel will immediately return to its '67 borders Hamas will accept Western Money. Pretty good joke no?

Hamas can't change its charter, just as the PLO charter never changed. Why? It is their identity.

BTW Hamas can't find a local bank to dobusiness with it. So, even the money they do have is not moving.

Anonymous said...

In the larger picture, if the POTUS and the Coalition countries are smart enough not to break and give in to funding EVEN INDIRECTLY, Iran (and Bahrain) but particularly Iran will have to fund them. That is a big drain on Iran's resources...which is EXACTLY what you want from now on if we intend to confront them. The more we drain and weaken the better for everyone. Let Iran fund HAMAS. They take their orders from Iran anyway. Who's kidding whom?