Hamas: Israeli campaign of economic strangulation aims to dismantle Palestinian resilience

RAMALLAH  (Palestine Foundation Information Center) Hamas has strongly condemned a series of coordinated Israeli occupation forces (IOF) raids on Palestinian currency exchange shops and businesses across the occupied West Bank, describing them as part of an escalating economic war targeting the livelihoods and resilience of the Palestinian people.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Hamas said the attacks—carried out by IOF troops and settlers in multiple West Bank cities—represent “a new chapter in the occupation’s open war on Palestinian life, economy, and national steadfastness.”

The raids targeted licensed currency exchange shops and private companies operating legally under Palestinian law. Hamas accused the IOF of looting large sums of money and seizing business assets in what it described as an extension of Israel’s broader campaign of “state piracy.”

“These economic attacks reflect the piracy policies of the extremist occupation government, led by Netanyahu, Ben Gvir, and Smotrich,” the statement read.

“Their colonial agenda—based on annexation, displacement, and economic strangulation—will fail in the face of our people’s resilience and unbreakable will,” Hamas stressed.

Hamas called on the Palestinian Authority to take urgent and effective action to confront what it described as a direct assault on the Palestinian economy, stressing that economic warfare is inseparable from the wider aggression against the Palestinian people, land, and identity.

The Movement also urged international human rights bodies to intervene immediately and called for the creation of a political and legal front to pressure Israel to end its crimes and be held accountable for its systematic looting and violations of Palestinian sovereignty and resources.

According to local sources, IOF raids were carried out at dawn on Tuesday in Jenin, Tulkarem, Nablus, Qalqilya, Tubas, Ramallah, Al-Khalil, and Bethlehem, where currency exchange shops were stormed, employees detained, and large amounts of cash and equipment confiscated.

Israeli authorities claimed the businesses were suspected of involvement in funding “terrorist activities,” though no evidence has been publicly presented.

Israeli army radio confirmed the raids were part of a broader campaign targeting Palestinian financial infrastructure and said more seizures of cash are expected.

The Palestinian Monetary Authority has yet to issue a statement regarding the campaign.

This is not the first time the IOF has targeted Palestinian financial institutions. A similar crackdown took place in December 2023, resulting in mass arrests and the confiscation of millions of shekels from exchange shops across the West Bank.