Skip to main content

Bank of Palestine targeted in Hamas robbery

1 min Mena Today

Armed groups in Gaza, including Hamas, last month robbed the Bank of Palestine of some $70 million, French daily Le Monde reported Saturday.

The funds were taken from the vaults of several branches of the bank in Gaza © Mena Today 

The funds were taken from the vaults of several branches of the bank in Gaza © Mena Today 

Armed groups in Gaza, including Hamas, last month robbed the Bank of Palestine of some $70 million, French daily Le Monde reported Saturday.

The funds were taken from the vaults of several branches of the bank, it said, citing a Bank of Palestine document sent to "certain international partners" detailing the robberies.

On April 16, staff discovered a hole in the ceiling of the safe deposit room at one of the bank's Gaza branches and found that some $3 million worth of Israeli shekels destined for cash dispensers were missing, Le Monde said.

The next day, armed groups equipped with explosives returned to the site, blew up a cement protection chamber, and took more than $30 million in various currencies from three safes.

Two days later, the biggest Gaza branch was attacked by commandos who said they answered to "Gaza's highest authorities," which the paper said is understood to mean Hamas. They took more than $36 million worth of shekels.

The Bank of Palestine, founded in 1960, is Gaza's leading financial institution. 

Related

Jordan

Amman stabbing: one officer dead, another wounded

A Jordanian police officer died of his wounds on Thursday after being stabbed in the capital Amman, in what the Public Security Directorate described as a “cowardly terrorist act.”

Israel

Netanyahu loses a key ally as ultra-Orthodox party holds back

Benjamin Netanyahu's position in the post-election battle to stay on as Israel's prime minister weakened on Thursday after an ultra-Orthodox Jewish party withheld support for any nominee and an Arab-led party endorsed his main opponent.

Turkey

After Aliyev’s snub, Erdogan reaches out to Baku

President Tayyip Erdogan said he believed ties between Turkey and Azerbaijan could overcome all obstacles and he would visit Baku on November 8, after tensions in recent weeks between the historic allies over regional and domestic policies.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Mena banner 4

To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.

  • Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.