Even though Hamas is a designated terror organization in Europe, the organizations and people identified in the report raise funds, recruit members, and disseminate misinformation freely.
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
The European Leadership Network, ELNET, released a report it described as “alarming,” detailing the extent of Hamas infiltration and influence among individuals and organizations throughout Europe.
“The findings are alarming,” ELNET wrote in a review of the report, which exposed 30 Hamas-affiliated individuals and organizations in seven countries throughout Europe.
The report highlights reveal that Majed Al-Zeer, Adel Doghman, and Mohammad Hannoun, as well as Italy’s Association of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (ABSPP) are closely connected to Hamas.
The report’s results were confirmed by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
Even though Hamas is a designated terror organization in Europe, the organizations and people identified in the report raise funds, recruit members, and disseminate misinformation freely.
They manage to bypass legal frameworks by keeping their ties to Hamas secret or, when discovered and exposed, creating new shell organizations to hide their identities.
In addition to separate organizations, ELNET identified networks of entities, including Palestinians in Europe Conference (EPC), which hosts annual events featuring Hamas-affiliated speakers, European Palestinian Council for Political Relations (EUPAC), created by individuals linked to Hamas, Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) in the U.K., ABSPP in Italy, and VPNK in Germany.
The report also named Hamas-affiliated Al-Hiwar, EPAL, Infopal, and Shehab, which issue propaganda for Europeans about Hamas’s activities.
Emmanuel Navon, CEO of ELNET, added, “In light of these findings, ELNET urges European governments to take swift action by thoroughly investigating and shutting down these Hamas-affiliated organizations in order to prevent Hamas from further destabilizing both the Middle East and Europe.”
He added, “Banks and financial institutions must closely monitor the activities of the individuals named in the reports and review their financial dealings to prevent further support for terrorist activities.”
“ELNET further calls on research institutions and think tanks to help expose these activities to the public and ensure that Hamas’s fundraising networks in Europe are dismantled,” Navon concluded.