Israel freezes Barclays bank account linked to Hamas fundraising

The Israeli police said in a statement on Tuesday that its cyber unit worked with British police to freeze a Barclays bank account linked to Hamas.

Palestinians take part in a rally marking the 31st anniversary of Hamas' founding, in Gaza City (photo credit: IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA / REUTERS)
Palestinians take part in a rally marking the 31st anniversary of Hamas' founding, in Gaza City
(photo credit: IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA / REUTERS)

A bank account at British bank Barclays linked to fundraising for the Palestinian militant group Hamas has been frozen, Israeli police said.

Hamas launched a surprise attack from Gaza into Israel on Saturday in one of the most serious escalations in the Israel-Palestinian conflict in years.

The Israeli police said in a statement on Tuesday that its cyber unit worked with British police to freeze a Barclays bank account linked to Hamas.

'Depositing donation funds'

The bank account's details were published by Hamas "for the purpose of depositing donation funds," the statement said.

 A representation of the cryptocurrency is seen in front of Binance logo in this illustration taken, March 4, 2022.  (credit: REUTERS/DADO RUVIC/ILLUSTRATION)
A representation of the cryptocurrency is seen in front of Binance logo in this illustration taken, March 4, 2022. (credit: REUTERS/DADO RUVIC/ILLUSTRATION)

A spokesperson for Barclays declined to comment on the freezing of the account, or confirm the accuracy of the detail in the police statement.

Israel has also frozen cryptocurrency accounts used to solicit donations for Hamas, the statement said.