Israeli army raids currency exchange shops in West Bank cities

Israeli occupation forces on Tuesday raided several currency exchange shops in the cities of Jenin, Tulkarm, Nablus, Qalqilya, and Tubas, Ramallah, Hebron, and Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank. 

Witnesses indicated that Israeli forces carried out searches and vandalism inside these shops.

Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper claimed the Israeli army raids targeted funds intended to finance attacks against Israelis.

According to the newspaper, during the raids; the army confiscated “terror- funds”, arrested shop owners, and closed them by military order.

The Palestinian Monetary Authority did not immediately comment on the Israeli campaign. 

For its part, the Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas, condemned the Israeli escalation in the occupied West Bank and its targeting of Palestinian economic companies, considering it “an open war against the foundations of Palestinian steadfastness and perseverance on their land”.

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The statement considered the Israeli attack on money exchange shops and the confiscation of their contents an extension of the piracy policies pursued by the Israeli occupation government, as part of its “grand colonial plan based on annexation and displacement”.

It called on the Palestinian Authority to shoulder its responsibilities and take effective measures to confront the occupation’s aggression against the Palestinian economy.

It also called for urgent international human rights and humanitarian action to form a political and legal front to pressure the Israeli occupation to halt its crimes and hold it accountable for its piracy of our people’s funds and its ongoing violations of our land and resources.

The Israeli army often carries out similar campaigns against Palestinian money exchange shops and “confiscates” their contents under the pretext of fighting “terror funds”.

In December 2023, the Israeli forces raided money exchange shops in most West Bank cities and confiscated approximately 10 million shekels ($2.82 million) and arrested a number of shop owners and employees.

The Israeli army claimed at the time that these shops were involved in transferring funds to Palestinian movements in Gaza. The shop owners denied the claims, asserting that they operate in accordance with applicable regulations and laws and under the supervision of the Palestinian Monetary Authority.

In a statement at the time, the Palestinian Monetary Authority considered the Israeli attack “a violation of all international norms, laws, charters, and agreements, and aims to undermine confidence in the Palestinian banking and exchange sector”.

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