As the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues, Israeli law enforcement authorities have sought ways to cripple the war financing of their enemy nation.
According to a Financial Times report, Binance, the leading cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has collaborated with the Israeli authorities to freeze over 100 accounts on its platform, purportedly linked to the Palestinian armed forces.
Binance Aids Israeli Authorities
Information about an additional 200 crypto accounts, held on Binance, has also been requested by authorities.
Citing individuals familiar with Israel’s enforcement operations, the report stated that about 150 donations have been made to Hamas and other affiliated groups since the start of the war on October 7th. Most of these funds are transported in small tranches, as large amounts can attract attention.
Hamas (the Islamic Resistance Movement) is a military organization overseeing the Gaza Strip of the Palestinian land mass. Described as a terrorist group, Hamas has launched many attacks on Israel, killing hundreds of Israeli citizens and taking people as hostages.
Last week, the Israeli police force stated via a social platform that it had confiscated several accounts financing the Hamas militants. Although Israeli authorities did not indicate what crypto exchange they worked with, the latest report suggests that Binance was the crypto custodian who aided Israel’s enforcement operations.
After concerns were raised by Tom Alexandrovich, executive director of Israel’s National Cyber Directorate, over the increased rate at which cryptocurrencies are being used for financing terrorism and war, Binance confirmed it had blocked a small number of accounts.
“In this period of war, cryptocurrency is a major issue for financing terror because there are no other options. The amount [of crypto funds] have super-increased since the attack began,” Alexandrovich said.
Not the First Time
Notably, this is not the first time that Israel’s authorities will confiscate crypto assets used by Hamas to finance war endeavors. In February 2022, the Israeli government seized 30 crypto wallets tied to Hamas to finance terrorist activities.
In a previous report, Tether revealed that it has collaborated with several countries to freeze 32 wallet addresses linked to terrorism and warfare in Israel and Ukraine. The stablecoin issuing company retrieved over $873,000 from the frozen addresses.
