France indicts five people for sending Hamas $47 million disguised as ‘aid’

The suspects are under judicial supervision and being investigated for financing a terrorist organization, organized breach of trust and money laundering related to terrorism, according to the report.

By JNS

Prosecutors in France have indicted five people for financing Hamas to the tune of at least $47 million through at least two associations described as focused on humanitarian aid, according to French media reports.

The suspects, who have not been named, are linked to the Humani’Terre and Soutien Humani’Terre associations, Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper reported.

Last year, France’s Interior Ministry said it was freezing the funds of that association and people linked to it, including a Jordan-born attorney named Khaled al-Shouli, 60.

Al-Shouli was among the lawyers representing alleged victims of Israel in a petition submitted in August 2024 to the International Criminal Court, arguing it had jurisdiction to issue a warrant for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

That action and others resulted in an arrest warrant issued by the ICC against Netanyahu in November 2024.

The Hamas-affiliated Quds News Network quoted Al-Shouli as saying in June 2023 that an earlier appeal to the ICC against Israel was a form of “resistance” to the “occupation.”

This “justified all forms of the Palestinian resistance,” he said, using a formulation that is widely understood to be a euphemism for violence.

Le Journal du Dimanche quoted sources at France’s National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office, who said the defendants had sent funds to Hamas under the cover of humanitarian aid.

The suspects are under judicial supervision and being investigated for financing a terrorist organization, organized breach of trust and money laundering related to terrorism, according to the report.

The charges follow recent searches conducted at Humani’Terre’s offices and at the homes and offices of current or former association officials.

The indictments follow an investigation opened on Nov. 3, 2023, shortly after Hamas’s terrorist attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Authorities conducted searches on Jan. 31, 2024, seizing computer equipment and financial documents from the associations.

In total, about €40 million ($47 million) were confiscated from the associations—most in bank accounts but more than €5 million in cash found at Humani’Terre’s headquarters and branches in Paris, Lille, Lyon and Marseille, according to the report.

Humani’Terre announced it was suspending donations, citing recent events and multiple administrative and banking obstacles.