Bennett signs executive order placing economic sanctions on terrorists

First restrictions target British-based Hamas operative.

By ANNA AHRONHEIM
Defense Minister Naftali Bennett visits Hatzor airbase, December 3, 2019 (photo credit: ARIEL HERMONI / DEFENSE MINISTRY)
Defense Minister Naftali Bennett visits Hatzor airbase, December 3, 2019
(photo credit: ARIEL HERMONI / DEFENSE MINISTRY)
Defense Minister Naftali Bennett has signed the first executive order placing economic restrictions on members of terrorist organizations in Israel and around the world, placing a limit on the ability of individuals to use their assets to promote terrorism.
A statement released by the Defense Ministry said the “targeted economic sanctions” will be an effective deterrent by placing a limit on the ability of terrorist activists to use their assets to promote and finance terrorist organization in Israel and abroad.
The order signed by Bennett on Tuesday placed sanctions on Mohammad Jamil, a Hamas activist who was deported by Israel to Lebanon in 1992 and who has lived in Britain in recent years.
According to the Defense Ministry, Jamil heads the Arab Human Rights Organization in the United Kingdom, a branch of the Gaza-based Hamas terrorist organization in the United Kingdom.
“This is the first of its kind in Israel during the war to finance terrorism, and is the first in a chain of orders for other activists to be signed by the defense minister soon,” the statement read. “The people against whom the orders will be signed will be added to the list in the security system, which is accessible to everyone, so that dozens and later hundreds of members belonging to the terrorist organizations Hezbollah, Hamas and others are marked across the world.”
The move was approved after work was conducted by Israel’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF) and the Attorney General’s Office, along with the participation of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and other agencies.
“At the heart of the move is a clear concept that the State of Israel will act against Islamic terrorism with additional non-military tools, with an emphasis on economic sanctions, in order to bring agencies around the world to avoid contact with terrorists,” the ministry said.
Bennett visited the Hatzor Air Force Base together with IAF Commander Maj.-Gen. Amikam Nurkin, Head of the Air Operations Directorate Brig.-Gen. Nir Barkan, the commander of the Hatzor Base Brig.-Gen. A. and other officials on Tuesday.
"The operations against terrorists are not just in the field, but also through the wallet," said Bennett during the visit. "Today we are embarking on a widescale economic operation against terrorists around the world. Anyone who harms us, we will chase after: whether it's an ATM that won't give him money or in the airport where they won't allow him on a plane or at the entrance to a country that will refuse him entry. We will chase after the terrorists so it won't be worth it for them to kill Israelis."
"Today I finished a visit at the Hatzor Air Force Base," added Bennett. "We have soldiers, pilots and excellent soldiers. The State of Israel stands firm in the face of the Iranian effort to base itself on our borders. We will not accept new neighbors on the borders of Israel.