Israel Announces ‘Targeted Economic Sanctions’ against Terror Activists
Defense Minister Naftali Bennett has signed the first executive order placing economic restrictions on members of terrorist organizations in Israel and abroad
Israeli Defense Minister Naftali Bennett on Tuesday signed a first executive order of its kind aimed at restricting the financial activities of individual terrorist operatives in Israel and around the world.
“The defense minister’s order restricts the ability of a terror activist to use his assets and promote his financial interests as well as the interests of his terrorist organization in Israel and abroad, constituting an effective deterrent against terrorism,” the ministry said in a statement.
“This is the first device of its kind in Israel, and it is part of the war against funding terrorism,” the ministry said, adding that “this is the first in a series of orders targeting additional activists which will be signed by the defense minister soon.”
“The individuals against whom the new orders will be signed will be added to the data in Israel’s security system and will be accessible to everyone, so that hundreds of terrorist operatives from Hezbollah, Hamas, and other groups will be marked as such around the world,” the statement read.
The order signed on Tuesday placed sanctions on Muhammed Jamil Hersh, 47, a Hamas activist who was deported to Lebanon in 1992, and has been living in the UK for the past few years. According to the defense ministry, Hersh heads a terrorist group known as the Arab Human Rights Organization in the United Kingdom, which is a front group for Hamas in Britain.
The move was approved after work conducted by Israel’s National Headquarters on Terrorist Economic Counter-Terrorism and the Attorney General’s Office, along with the participation of the Israel Security Agency and other agencies.
[Sources: The Jewish Press, The Jerusalem Post, Israel National News]