'Israel' loots 1bn shekels from Gaza's central bank: Reports

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
20 Feb 2024 20:13
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The IOF broke into Gaza's central bank and confiscated the money based on unfounded allegations.

Israeli female soldiers pose for a photo on a position on the Gaza Strip "border", in southern Palestine, Monday, Feb. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

Israeli news website i24news reported Tuesday citing sources from the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) that an invasion of Gaza's Central Bank led to the discovery of one billion shekels stored in 12 different safes.

Without providing any credible evidence, the report states that Israeli security sources deemed the money belonged to Hamas.

Based on these allegations, the funds were confiscated, the report adds.

This comes in the context of "Israel's" genocidal campaign in the Gaza Strip. Besides widespread massacres and the destruction of cultural and civilian assets, lootings add to the long list of crimes committed by the regime.

Latest figures from Gaza's Ministry of Health reveal that the number of martyrs has risen to 29,195 and those injured to 69,170.

A report from earlier in the month by the Israeli newspaper Maariv revealed that the Israeli occupation had stolen 54.29 million dollars from the Bank of Palestine in its Gaza headquarters, after storming it last week.

Maariv, citing Israeli occupation officers, reported that the occupation soldiers "risked their lives" to seize hundreds of millions of shekels from the Bank of Palestine, that were initially allocated for the Palestinian Authority.

Allegedly, the robbery was launched after a sniper had targeted Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of the bank. Following the incident, the occupation forces raided the bank and ransacked the money.

The Israeli forces spokesperson told Maariv that the "IOF operated the bank a week ago to misdirect the money transferred to the Palestinian Authority, and stop Hamas from acquiring it."

"Israel" has notoriously employed this tactic in Gaza and the West Bank, and while murdering almost 30,000 Palestinians has not been enough to quench their greed, looting valuables has also been an active pursuit.

Occupation soldiers have proudly documented the processes by which they looted Palestinian homes after they forcibly displaced civilians out of them.

'Israel' struggles to fund its genocidal campaign

Recent reports have suggested that "Israel" is facing challenges in funding its war on Gaza.

A report by Bloomberg on February 11 detailed that "Israel" may have to sell a near-record amount of bonds this year to keep its war finances afloat.

Citing multiple finance sources, the report stated that the regime is expected to rely extensively on shekel debt markets as it ramps up its issuance. They further mentioned plans to increase the sale of foreign-currency bonds, particularly through privately negotiated transactions.

Despite mounting pressure from both within the regime and from the US to scale back operations in Gaza, the Israeli leadership reiterated its determination to continue its genocidal campaign.

As a result, "Israel" is projected to experience one of its widest budget deficits in recent times. Expectations are that the regime may require to issue more debt this year than in any previous year except for 2020, when heavy spending was necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Observers say that the total debt issuance could amount to 210 billion shekels ($58 billion), an increase of nearly a third from last year.